The border of Canada and the United States

The background of the future border began in the era of the settlement of the North American continent by Europeans. Its first sketches were made when the American continent was settled by English Puritans and French Catholics in the 17th century. While the English settlers primarily began to develop a strip of land along the Atlantic coast of the modern United States, the French, having strengthened themselves at Acadia, began to explore the water system up the St. Lawrence River, moving towards the Great Lakes. The first contacts between the two empires on the North American continent were random and in many respects related to their relationship with the Indians. By the end of the first century, Europeans populated North America still unformed border between the French and English possessions was far from peaceful. The inhabitants of New France were perceived in the British colonies as “anti-Christians,” “papists,” “idolaters,” respectively, the struggle against them was proclaimed a pious deed.

The first officially registered border, the demarcation line between New France and New England, was established by the Utrecht Peace of 1713, which transferred England to Acadia, Newfoundland and the coast of the Hudson's Bay. Then, the Seven Years War of 1756-1763 reshaped the map of North America, the result of which "was the elimination of French possessions on the American continent." Thanks, not least, to the efforts of Benjamin Franklin, “Britain received not the sugar-rich island of Guadeloupe, but a vast but semi-empty territory north of the old colonies” - Canada. Franklin's main argument in favor of the annexation of Canada was the security problem: the British colonies cannot feel safe while the outpost of the adversary empire is nearby. Thus, Canada became another British colony in North America, but its difference from the "old" colonies was the growing self-will of the Americans.

Nevertheless, for a long time after the Europeans began to develop the expanses of North America, the border between American and Canadian society, exactly, as well as the border between their states did not exist. The ancestors of the Anglo-Canadians and Anglo-Americans are essentially the same people - immigrants from the British Empire. Until the American Revolution and the adoption of the Declaration of Independence of 1776, two types of borders generally crossed the modern territory of the two countries: the border between the colonial possessions of European empires and the border between "civilization" and the wild world, the so-called "frontier". It was the second type of border that to a greater extent influenced not only the development of identity, cultural traditions, and community of North Americans, but was also a determining factor in the development and migration of the population, laying the groundwork for the formation of two states.

The period after the annexation by Canada of Britain has become a time of violent mutual confusion, migration of the population from north to south and vice versa, provided by the complete absence of any barriers or borders, since we are talking about the territory that was “inside” the frontier under the jurisdiction of one country. Of the largest migration flows, one can single out the relocation of some New England residents and a large number of new immigrants from the British Isles to the Nova Scotia Peninsula, which took place until 1775, which subsequently ensured the “neutrality” of this territory in the impending war. This phenomenon was one of the first expressions of cross-border relations between two neighbors.

During the war of independence, the future territory of Canada became the base for imperial troops and, ultimately, a refuge for thousands of loyalists. The formation of the United States in 1776 and, subsequently, the conclusion of the Paris Peace Treaty of 1783 (which became the first document securing the border between the United States and British North America) led to the creation of a fundamentally new type of border - the border between a sovereign state with a republican system and a democratic form of government and is clearly hostile tuned colonial possession of the empire with a monarchical form of government. A nation that was once united, whose core was the so-called. WASPs, was for the first time divided by a clear border territorially, as well as culturally, politically and de jure nationally. The American revolution declared the creation of a new nation - the American one, which was one of the reasons for the outflow from the country, according to various estimates, from 40,000 to 75,000 "loyalists" - the most educated, more aristocratic part of the population of the faithful British monarchy, which did not accept the established order in the USA . This number also includes farmers who migrated from the state of New York and New England in Ontario to the fertile northern shores of the Great Lakes. It was the loyalists who created the English Canada, thanks to their influx, the US-Canadian border became a line not only between nations, but between identities. At that time, the period of its birth, the border was more of an unnatural barrier between the two peoples, and was called upon to separate the lands of the young democratic state from the lands of its enemy yesterday. The border between the two states, which first appeared with the signing of the Paris World in 1783, came as a surprise to residents of the border territories. So in a number of border cities in the states of New York and Maine, buildings that have become a landmark, through which the border between the United States and British Canada, have survived, have remained to this day. For Canadians, the land south of their country became a symbol of shame - in Canada itself, the loyalty of the empire was a matter of pride. In this sense, it is worth agreeing with the opinion of the American geographer D. Meining that "the American revolution created not one country, but two."

Tensions between countries grew. The newly formed border was violated in 1812 due to the Anglo-American war, and the unleashed war, oddly enough, contributed to a more dynamic solution to the border issue. The Ghent Peace Treaty of 1814 provided, among other things, for the creation of three commissions to establish the exact border line. As a result, bilateral negotiations between Britain and the United States led to two important agreements that directly affected the development of further cross-border relations between neighboring powers.

The first agreement that set the tone for the rest of the negotiation process and, as I ^{[to whom? ] it} seems that subsequently gave rise to the opinion of the “longest unguarded border in the world” - the Rush-Bagot Pact signed in 1817, on the mutual demilitarization of the Great Lakes (Rush-Bagot Treaty). This agreement cannot be underestimated. For the first time in many years of confrontation between, in fact, fraternal nations, there has been a tendency to improve relations. People on both sides of the border still perceived it as an unnatural barrier. This was no longer the frontier that enclosed the "civilized" lands from the "savages", the border began to separate one English-speaking world from another in the space of a single region. This largely determined the further peaceful progressive development of bilateral relations. As proof of this, the fact that this was the first and last war of the two countries can serve as a proof. In April next year, another friendly agreement on the delimitation of the fishing lands of countries is concluded.

Six months later, the second most important bilateral treaty was concluded. On October 20, 1818, the Anglo-American Convention of Rash-Gallatin (Convention of 1818) was signed in London, which defined the border between the United States and British possessions from Lake Forest to the then-barely explored Rocky Mountains. For simplicity, it was decided to “straighten” the state border between the two countries, which was strictly 49 parallel from Lake Erie to the Rocky Mountains. America ceded an insignificant part of its territories in the Milk River Valley, which entered the later formed Canadian province of Alberta. In the same agreement, Britain reaffirmed its obligations regarding runaway slaves from the United States, whose owners the British administration agreed to either pay compensation, or deport slaves back to their rightful owners.

The conclusion of two major agreements of 1817 and 1818 laid the foundation for all long-term work to establish cooperation between the two countries and served as a starting point for the development of their cross-border relations.

In subsequent years, both countries, developing, moved west to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. However, the development of countries was extremely uneven. By the 40s of the XIX century, the United States had become a leader in the development of its economy, industry, and population. The last unmarked portion of the eastern US-Canadian border (between Maine and New Brunswick) was mapped in 1842 after the signing of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty, after which the gaze of both states turned west. Migrants from the east of the USA, under the influence of various kinds of factors, began to move more actively and develop western lands. So, the need arose to “extend” the border. In 1844, the Presidential Regiment’s administration initiated negotiations to establish a clear border between the countries in Oregon, a territory that until that time remained in British-American co-ownership. The Americans insisted on drawing the border with Canada along the parallel 54 ° 40 ', which in turn was the southern tip of the Russian possessions in America. Such plans provoked indignation on the part of Great Britain, which in turn proposed to draw the border along the Columbia River. A compromise was found in 1846 when the Oregon treaty was signed. According to this agreement, the border between the USA and Canada was fixed mainly along the 49th parallel. Now the US-Canadian border ran from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.

Along with the establishment of the border, strong economic ties were established between the two countries. In general, the economic significance of the border appeared rather early. The most obvious, in this context, stage can be the period of formation of Canadian statehood, namely, the so-called. national policy pursued since 1879 by Canadian Prime Minister D. MacDonald. It was a policy of extreme protectionism: the introduction of high import duties and, at the same time, the construction of a transcontinental railway and the settling of migrants in the west of the country was aimed not only at creating an internal sales market, but also served as a means of preserving Canadian statehood under the threat of annexation of both political and economic from the USA. But in subsequent years, economic dependence on the United States only increased. By the end of the 19th century, the main source of income for the Canadian budget was nothing more than customs duties levied at border crossings. At the very beginning of the 20th century, Canada and the United States finally put an end to all territorial disputes. In 1903, a joint commission, which included American, British, and Canadian representatives, determined the border between Canada and Alaska at 141 meridians. Thus put an end to the territorial disputes of the two countries. Perhaps this factor also influenced the development of bilateral trade, because by the beginning of World War I, duties accounted for 75% of Canada's total federal income.

However, together with a protectionist policy aimed primarily at ensuring the competitiveness of Canadian goods and preventing economic and other annexation by the United States, Canada also had another experience in its relationship with its southern neighbor. So, already from the middle of the XIX century Canada was experiencing a period of rapid economic development. Rail and shipbuilding grew, British and American entrepreneurs invested heavily in Canadian enterprises. In 1853, the colony of Canada switched from the British pound to the Canadian dollar, as it was more convenient for trade with the United States. Thus, the United States began to acquire a logical and natural look as a priority partner for Canada.

Since the 1940s, Canada has been worried that many valuable lands in North America have been ceded to the United States. The heated debate that erupted between the timber merchants of New Brunswick and the State of Maine over the border between the United States and the British colonies in its eastern part was settled in favor of the United States under the Webster-Ashburton Treaty in 1842. At the same time, in the Far West there was such an energetic settlement of land by US immigrants that Britain was forced to abandon all claims to the Columbia River Valley. According to the Oregon Treaty of 1846, the border between these countries, passing 49 parallel west of Forest Lake, continued along the same parallel to the Pacific Ocean, which is also a surrender of positions to the Americans. In order to somehow compensate for these concessions, the British government tried to gain Canada access to US markets by concluding tariff agreements with the United States. Negotiations began with disputes over fishing in the coastal waters of Canada, where access to American fishermen was closed by the 1818 convention. During the negotiations in Washington in the spring of 1854, the Canadian side put forward a proposal to settle this conflict, provided that the Americans agree to a mutual reduction in tariffs. As a result, under the terms of the Reciprocity Treaty in 1854, duties on raw materials and agricultural products (timber, fish, grain, coal) were canceled and American fishermen got free access to fisheries off the Canadian coast. So, the agreement provided an option of limited free trade. As a result of the agreement, the ensuing revival of trade helped boost the British colonies' economies in North America and allowed Canada to oppose the control of the metropolis over the entire sphere of trade. Since then, Canada’s reorientation from the British markets to the American, and therefore to a closer strategic partnership in all areas, especially in the economy, has been outlined.

Since the signing of the Treaty of Reciprocity, the origins of the idea of ​​uniting the economic markets of the United States and Canada have also begun. The agreement was the first precedent for the introduction of free trade in relations between the two countries. Despite the fact that it was terminated twelve years later at the initiative of the United States, in connection with the victory of the protectionist North in the Civil War, the vector for improving cross-border relations did not change. It is worth noting also the fact that during the term of the contract, trade between the two countries grew 2.2 times, while Canada's exports to the United States increased 5.5 times. Thus, the predominant part of the growth in turnover was due to the increase in Canadian exports, which, of course, caused irritation to American manufacturers. In this regard, it is not surprising that it was the United States that initiated the rupture of the treaty.

In his book “Canada - A Trading Nation,” the well-known Canadian researcher M. Hart, who largely concentrates on the problem of free trade, takes the above-mentioned Reciprocity Agreement as a starting point. According to him, Canada has repeatedly tried to renew the treaty after it was terminated by Congress: according to the estimates of M. Hart, such attempts were made by Ottawa at least six times in the XIX century and at least three times in the XX century. The last such attempt made by the conservative government of B. Mulroney in the mid-1980s, as you know, was crowned with success.

It was this experience, the experience of gradual rapprochement and integration, that ran through the history of cross-border relations between the two countries. Starting from the first treaty on the demarcation of the border in 1818 and the final in 1903, Canada and the United States did not cease, and at an impressive pace, not only trade turnover, but also the interdependence of economies grew. Along with the rapid domestic economic development of Canada, large and small American businesses penetrated the country, turning from year to year into the main investor and partner of Canada and directly displacing the British from the Canadian market in direct proportion. Each year, despite the breakdown of the Treaty of Reciprocity, relations between the United States and Canada became stronger, and integration was broader. Further development of the Canadian-American economic ties took place gradually, in the rhythm of a smooth evolution, and it can be divided into several stages:

• Before the First World War. During this period, in foreign economic relations of Canada, despite the ever-growing influence of America, the old metropolis dominated - Great Britain.
• The period between world wars. The time of the so-called "triangular trade" with the participation of Canada, the USA and Great Britain, when the trade turnover between the three countries reached an approximate equilibrium.
• After the second world war. The period when "a unipolar version of the development of Canada’s foreign economic relations with an emphasis on the United States was formed."

В связи с этим, стоит отметить следующий интересный момент во внутриполитической жизни Канады, который связан с, казалось бы, необъяснимой рокировкой внешнеполитических приоритетов двух ведущих канадских партий. Приведенной выше логике трехэтапной эволюции, в ходе которой произошла переориентация внешнеэкономических связей Канады с Великобритании на США, соответствует постепенный отход Консервативной партии Канады от лоббирования продвижения в качестве основной партнерской линии взаимоотношения с Великобританией. На первом этапе, Консервативная партия отстаивала ориентацию Канады на Великобританию, тогда как Либеральная партия искала противовес влиянию метрополии посредством развития экономических связей с США; на третьем же этапе обе партии поменялись местами: консерваторы превратились в главных адептов развития интеграционных связей с Соединёнными Штатами, тогда как либералы в течение длительного времени, и особенно активно в эру Трюдо, упорно, хотя и не слишком успешно, пытались «создавать противовесы» стихийно нарастающей экономической зависимости от южного соседа прежде всего посредством развития экономических отношений с Западной Европой.

В любом случае, именно правительство Консервативной партии во главе с Б. Малруни во второй половине 1980-х — начале 1990-х годов взяло на себя ответственность по заключению двухстороннего канадо-американского соглашения о свободной торговле (ФТА) и трехстороннего — с участием Мексики — соглашения (НАФТА), напрямую повлиявших на дальнейшее развитие трансграничных отношений стран.

Граница возникла в первоначальном виде в 1783 году по Версальскому договору , который положил конец войне между Великобританией и её бывшими колониями, основавшими США.

В 1844 г. администрация президента Полка желала установки границы между США и Канадой по 54° 40', что было южной точкой окончания русских владений в Америке . Однако этим планам яростно воспротивилась Великобритания, требововшая установки границы по реке Колумбия . Спор был разрешен в 1846 г. Согласно подписанному Орегонскому договору граница в основном закреплялась по 49 параллели.

В 1903 г. совместная комиссия представителей США, Великобритании и Канады урегулировали вопрос о границе между Аляской и Канадой по 141 меридиану.

Граница между США и Канадой считается одной из самых протяжённых неохраняемых границ в мире. Таможенный надзор осуществляется только на самых больших дорогах между США и Канадой. На деревенских дорогах, в деревнях, сельскохозяйственных полях и лесах не встречаются ни таможенные пункты, ни какие-либо пограничные ограждения. Несмотря на то, после терактов 11 сентября 2001 года на главных дорогах США-Канады полицейский-пограничный контроль был усилен. Однако усиление контроля вызвало неоднозначную реакцию простых жителей Канады и США, а также представителей бизнеса, которые были вынуждены столкнуться с непривычными до тех пор дополнительными проверками.

Граница богата известными во всем мире географическими и историческими объектами, такими как:

• Ниагарский водопад
• Несколько зданий в штатах Нью-Йорк , Мэн разделены границей, так как были построены до делимитации
• Северо-Западный Угол — участок побережья озера Лесного , расположенный севернее 49° северной широты.
• На границе США (Аляски) и Канады находятся несколько высоких гор, в частности: Гора Святого Ильи , Фэруэтер , , , Огаста , — шесть этих гор входят в список гор США, имеющих абсолютную высоту более 4000 метров и относительную — более 500 метров .
• Международный сад мира
• Парк «Арка мира»
• Водохранилище Росс

• International Boundary Commission
• Indepth: It's a fine line — Disputing boundaries CBC News Online, Oct. 11, 2005
• 1994 trip from Lake of the Woods to the Continental Divide