US-Canadian Influence

The United States, being a large military super power, possesses many strong allies. Who, however, is number one on this long list of friendlies? For many people the answer to that question would be Canada. The United States and Canada have stood alongside each other at their worst as well as their best. Naturally, throughout their many years of friendship, Canada has influenced the United States in several ways. Some areas affected by this Canadian influence include cuisine, sports, and trade.

To begin, a large part of Canadian-American culture happens to be the food they eat. When Canadians immigrate into the United States often they bring along with them their traditional cuisines. For example, in an article by Fedunkiw it states, “A common, inexpensive dish from Quebec is poutine, a mixture of fries, cheese curds, and gravy” (Fedunkiw). This quote describes a common Canadian dish that has made its way into a few restaurants here in the United States, influencing our cuisine.

This article also states, “Other dietary practices by immigrants from Canada are rooted in ethnic origins” (Fedunkiw). Much of the food brought in by the Canadian-Americans happens to be ethnic based, since preparing these dishes help them keep their national identity. In this way Canada has brought an influence on cuisine into the United States.

To continue, a somewhat more popular area that Canada has impacted in the United States would be that of sports. The most common sport that people often associate Canadians with happens to be hockey.

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Over the years Canada has offered the NHL countless numbers of exceptional hockey players. One of these athletes in particular is named Brett Hull. One article on Canadian-American athletes states, “He was the recipient of two league trophies and held the league scoring record for goals scored from 1989 to 1992” (Fedunkiw). This happens to be only a few of the amazing achievements this Canadian-American athlete achieved over the years. Both Canadian and American hockey athletes alike have been inspired by his great achievements. This same article states, “Swimmer Missy Franklin (1995–), born in California to Canadian parents, debuted at the 2012 Summer Olympics at the age of seventeen and won four gold medals” (Fedunkiw). One can see by this quote, that Canadian-Americans have even gone so far as to represent the United States in the Olympics. Both of these examples help show how influential Canadian-Americans have been in American sports.

Lastly, a greater factor in the friendship between Canada and the United States has been the trade industry. It, however, did not always run as smoothly as it does today. An article written by Randall explains, “Canadian concerns came to a head in a general way during the late 1980s debate over the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement” (Randall). This agreement brought a great fear however, that Canadian cultural industries would be threatened as a result. Despite these fears the agreement went into effect and became beneficial for both countries. Another article about the trade agreement states, “This effort culminated in the 1988 Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement, which initiated a growth in trade between the two nations that by 2012 made Canada and the United States the largest trading partnership in the world” (“Canada”). In this way one can see how beneficial Canadian-American trade relations have been to both the United States and Canada.

In conclusion, both the United States and Canada have lived side by side for hundreds of years. Along with these many years of friendship came much Canadian influence as well. Many Canadian dishes such as poutine can now be found throughout the United States. Without the help of many exceptional Canadian-American hockey players, the NHL would not be the way it is today. Also, the importance of the trade industry between Canada and the United States cannot be understated. In the end, it is these Canadian influences that have helped shape the United States into the wonderful country it is today.

Works Cited

1. ‘Canada, Trade with the United States Since the Nineteenth Century.’ Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History, edited by Thomas Riggs, Gale, 2nd edition, 2015. Credo Reference, https://library.semo.edu:2443/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/galegue/canada_trade_with_the_united_states_since_the_nineteenth_century/0?institutionId=1804. Accessed 12 Sep. 2018.
2. Fedunkiw, Marianne P. ‘Canadian Americans.’ Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Gale, 3rd edition, 2014. Credo Reference, https://library.semo.edu:2443/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/galegale/canadian_americans/0?institutionId=1804. Accessed 12 Sep. 2018.
3. Randall, Stephen J. ‘United States-Canadian Relations.’ Encyclopedia of American Studies, edited by Simon Bronner, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1st edition, 2018. Credo Reference,https://library.semo.edu:2443/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/jhueas/united_states_canadian_relations/0?institutionId=1804. Accessed 12 Sep. 2018.