WHY STUDY CANADA?

As discussed at the leadership Conference on Campobello Island which took place during August, 1990, it is increasingly important that the United States become more aware of its relationship with Canada and of the intertwined heritage and distinctive cultures of our two countries. Therefore attention should be drawn to the significance of current developments within Canada and in the Canadian-U.S. relationship. This study can give us a more global perspective by specifically observing:

  1. Canada's commitment to meeting the challenge of governing a vast country of pronounced regionalism, balancing the needs of individual regions with those of the society at large, as well as balancing the concepts of individual rights and responsibilities with those of the collectivity;

  2. The emergence of the North American continent as an economic unit, reinforced by the 1989 Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, and the possible tendency toward "regionalization" in the world economy, implying some risk of loss of national economic autonomy and perhaps also of reduction of ;interest in wider, more global international economic transactions;

  3. The heightened awareness of ethnic diversity, linguistic differences, and exclusive regional consciousness on the North American continent, and the comparability of these issues to similar ones in other areas of the world including, for example, the changing Soviet bloc;

  4. The emerging political presence of indigenous peoples "first nations" in Canada and the connections being formed by those groups with native groups in other countries, through such bodies as the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, in order to protect and advance their traditional values and interests;

  5. The efforts being made by our two countries to improve the quality of the North American environmentèwater and air, forests and fisheriesèfor sustainable development, and the relevance of this work for environmentalist activities in other parts of the world;

  6. The enlightened policy of Canadian governments over many years in providing universal health services, and the possible partial adaptability of these mechanisms to the needs of other nations, including the health needs of the united States;

  7. The effective assistance being given by Canada to ;countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to aid in their economic, social, and political development, emphasizing the rule of law, human rights, and democratic practices as well as physical well-being and the lessons that can be learned by other countries from this accumulated experience;

  8. The pioneering work of Canadian government institutions and private enterprises in overcoming geographical distances with new means of transportation and communications in building the Canadian nation, and the applicability of the latest forms of this technology in meeting the transport and telecommunication needs of other nations requiring similar services;

  9. The humanistic insights and artistic accomplishments of Canadian men and women in the fields of literature, theatre, film and other cultural media, and the growing international recognition of these expressions as valuable contributions to human understanding; and

  10. The emphasis that the Canadian government has placed on international organizations and multilateral cooperation, especially in the united nations but also in the Commonwealth, la francophonie, and the North Atlantic Alliance, and the increased appropriateness of the Canadian multilateral diplomacy in a more diverse, complex, and functionally interdependent world.


    Back to Canadian StudiesHome Page