Ignoring the Great White North

In the past few weeks, whether it was uprisings in the Middle East or nuclear meltdowns in Japan, the news has been surprisingly newsworthy (though we have managed to toss in a Charlie Sheen or Rebecca Black story in from time to time; this is America, after all). But amid all the hubbub and large news stories, one nation yet again slipped under the radar: Canada, our favorite forgotten neighbor.

It may not have been as exciting as Egyptians protesting in the streets, but last Friday, the Canadian government fell as well. The Conservatives under Prime Minister Stephen Harper lost a vote of no-confidence, dissolving their government and paving the way for new elections May 2.

So our largest, most important neighbor is experiencing a shift in political power. But apparently, as usual, we don’t care.

Admittedly, Canada’s change in government isn’t nearly as exciting as the coalition force in Libya, but that doesn’t make it completely unimportant. Canada and the United States share the longest border of any two countries in the world, they exchange almost $1.6 billion a day in goods, and Canada supplies the United States with almost twice as much crude oil a day as any other country.

It’s not an apples-to-apples argument (since there may be no more peaceful a place for regime change than our gentle Canadian neighbors), but if China were to experience a change in leadership, we would be more concerned as to how it might affect the United States economically. With every recent regime change in North Africa, the driving focus of the coverage was, “How might this affect the United States?”

With the Great White North, however, our attitude tends to be, “Oh, those silly Canadians.” Our largest trade partner and ally in North America dissolves the government and calls for new federal elections for the fourth time in seven years, and no one bats an eye.

Perhaps we ought to stop taking our northern neighbors for granted. I freely admit my own part in Canada blindness. When I read that the Canadian Parliament was being dissolved, I had to struggle to remember who the prime minister was. I can name French President Sarkozy or German Chancellor Merkel in an instant, but Stephen Harper was a name that took awhile, even though the Canadian border is only about 400 miles from my hometown.

That is certainly my own shortcoming, though I think I’m not alone. Mexico may be more exciting and newsworthy most of the time, but let’s give Canada credit when credit is due. That’s what being a good neighbor is all about, eh?  

—mebinder@indiana.edu