Oh. Canada.

• Author: KURLANTZICK, JOSHUA
• Position: Effects of Pres Bush's neglect to build relationship with Canada

Like the rest of us, Bush doesn't care about Canada. Big mistake.

IN THEIR DEALINGS WITH THE UNITED States, Canadians frequently wind up feeling like Elizabeth Taylor's husbands: They have one humiliation after another heaped on them, they often learn about changes in their relationship through the media, yet they stand by their spouse in public. Though the two nations have deep cultural, economic, and political ties, the relationship is famously one-sided. Most Americans know virtually nothing about Canada, while many Canadian students know more about U.S. history than their American counterparts. U.S. presidents routinely mangle the names of Canadian leaders, while Canadian leaders constantly emphasize Washington and Ottawa's "special relationship."

Even within this tradition of U.S. neglect, President George W. Bush stands out for his obliviousness. A Texan and an aspiring Spanish-speaker obsessed with courting Latino voters, Bush has made opening markets southward his overriding foreign policy goal for the Western Hemisphere. He treats Canada, by far America's largest trading partner, as at best an afterthought. During the 2000 presidential campaign, a Canadian talk-show host jokingly informed Bush that he had been endorsed by Canada's leader, Prime Minister "Poutine" (not actually an official, but a Montreal `delicacy' made of gravy, french fries, and cheese curds). Bush said he was delighted to have the support of "Prime Minister Poutine," unaware that the prime minister's real name is Chretien, a Liberal who was all but stumping for Al Gore. The journalist's trick was not altogether fair; one can imagine other presidential candidates falling for it, though probably not Al Gore. But Bush's disregard for Canada is very real. In his major campaign speech on Western Hemisphere foreign policy, Bush devoted only three out of 76 paragraphs to Canada--the other 73 dealt with Latin America.

Every newly-elected president since Franklin Roosevelt has made Canada his first trip abroad. Bush blew off Canada and instead went to Mexico, where he visited that country's new president, fellow conservative and ranch owner Vincente Fox. Canada's political elite took this as a slap in the face. To meet Bush, Prime Minister Chretien had to travel to Washington this February. After an Oval Office meeting, Chretien was reportedly irritated at having to explain to Bush the basic facts of key trade disputes between their two countries. In April, Bush finally got around to visiting Canada, but only to attend the Summit of the Americas, held in Quebec City, where the main agenda item was--you guessed it--opening Latin American markets. During the summit, Bush read dutifully from prepared remarks extolling the deep and enduring ties between the U.S. and Canada. Then he called Chretien "amigo."

Bush's casual disregard of Canada may seem like an extreme but harmless expression of a longstanding American tradition. In fact, it is foolhardy, for him and for the country. In a way that hasn't been true for years, Canada matters. The Bush administration might not know it yet, but to fulfill its agenda on everything from trade to energy to national defense, the United States, the modern...