The United States and Canada: Neighbors, Friends, and Allies

Office of the Spokesperson

“Canada is one of our closest allies, and I look forward to working in partnership to advance our shared interests and confront our shared challenges.”

– U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, January 26, 2021

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will visit Canada virtually on February 26 as part of his first virtual trip as Secretary of State.  During his visit, Secretary Blinken will meet with Prime Minister Trudeau, Foreign Minister Garneau, and other Canadian cabinet members.  This visit follows President Biden’s virtual bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Trudeau on February 23, during which the two leaders announced the U.S.-Canada Partnership Roadmap, a blueprint for our whole-of-government relationship. Secretary Blinken will begin the process of putting this plan into action in his meetings with Canadian leaders by discussing shared bilateral priorities and common approaches to global challenges including responding to the COVID-19 pandemic; taking bold action to combat climate change; strengthening economic ties and enhancing North American economic security through USMCA implementation; and bolstering our shared defense and security.

THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA: COMMON BORDER, VALUES, AND FUTURE

• The United States and Canada have been friends, partners, and allies for more than 150 years, and our bilateral relationship is one of the closest and most comprehensive in the world.
• The fact that President Biden’s first phone call to a foreign leader was to Prime Minister Trudeau, and Secretary Blinken’s first call as Secretary of State was to Foreign Minister Garneau, is a testament to our deep and abiding friendship. President Biden held his first bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Trudeau on February 23, and Secretary Blinken’s virtual visit will build on their discussions of our shared priorities and challenges.
• The United States and Canada collaborate on a daily basis to secure and share the world’s longest land border –5,525 miles – and its 120 land ports-of-entry.
• The $1.9 billion worth of goods and services that cross our border every day are a testament to the depth and breadth of our economic relationship.
• The United States and Canada are stalwart allies, and U.S. defense arrangements with Canada are more extensive than with any other country in the world.
• The U.S.-Canada Partnership Roadmap will guide our two countries as we work hand-in-hand on shared areas of concern. These concerns include combatting COVID-19; driving economic recovery; leading on climate change; advancing diversity and inclusion in both our societies; expanding our security and defense cooperation, including through NATO and NORAD; and jointly addressing shared challenges through multilateral institutions.

FRIENDS IN HARD TIMES: RESPONDING TO COVID-19

• The United States and Canada are collaborating closely to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and to plan for economic recovery.
• Through extraordinary communication, cooperation, and coordination at every level of our two governments, the United States and Canada have worked together to keep our shared border open to essential travel and to maintain critical supply chains. This has allowed trade to flow between our countries while prioritizing the health and safety of our citizens by restricting cross-border land entry for non-essential purposes.
• Our cooperation on global health security, including on vaccine technical assistance and distribution efforts, is emblematic of the strength of the U.S.-Canada relationship.

DEEP ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP

• The United States and Canada enjoy the world’s most comprehensive trading relationship, which supports millions of jobs in each country.
• The United States and Canada traded goods and services worth $725 billion in 2019. Canada and the United States are each other’s largest export markets, and Canada is the number one export market for more than 30 U.S. states.
• The United States and Canada are also each other’s largest energy trading partners.
• The United States and Canada have a shared goal of enhancing North American economic security and competitiveness. Implementation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), our cooperation in the Arctic, and critical minerals collaboration are important means to achieving that goal together.North American climate leadership can help us develop new economic opportunities in clean energy and transportation.

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP ON SHARED CHALLENGES

• The United States and Canada share common democratic values. We work together on the world stage to defend these values and promote democracy, prosperity, peace and security across the globe.  The United States is committed to global engagement and multilateralism.
• The High-Level Policy Review Group, which last met in February 2020, is the premier bilateral forum for discussing global issues with Canada, and we look forward to reconvening the group soon to review priority areas for cooperation.
• The United States and Canada share a commitment to leading the global response to the challenge of climate change. Under the Biden Administration, the U.S. government wasted no time reengaging the international community on this priority, rejoining the Paris Agreement and redoubling our efforts to avoid planetary warming while building resilience to the impacts of climate change that are already being experienced.  Through the Roadmap, President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau will launch a High Level Climate Ministerial to align our policies and our goals to tackle the climate crisis.
• Beijing is now challenging our security, prosperity, and values in significant ways that require a new approach, and the United States will work closely with Canada to address these challenges. The United States stands with Canada regarding the arbitrary detentions of Canadian citizens Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig and continues to call on Beijing for their immediate release.
• The United States is honored to have participated in the launch of the Canadian-drafted “Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations” and to stand with the international community against the use of arbitrary detention by governments in their relations.
• The United States and Canada work together through NORAD and NATO to ensure the safety and security of our citizens from global and domestic threats. NORAD is the crown jewel of U.S.-Canada defense cooperation.  After 60 years, NORAD remains the only binational military command in the world.  We welcome Canada’s reinforced commitment to NORAD as we modernize the command to meet new global security challenges.
• The United States and Canada recognize the unique challenges, opportunities, and obligations as Arctic states, and commit to launching an expanded Arctic Dialogue, covering security, economic and social development, and governance.