In 1940: The Relations of Canada and the U.S.

Published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

There’s a long arm of history reaching across the world’s longest border dating back to the late 1800’ when French Canadians began a migration that would continue into the twentieth century. They left in growing numbers reaching to a million in search of work in the U.S. This is not just a story of economics, though it is easy to understand that as being a motivating factor to leave the homeland.

All these years later, currently up to a million so-called “Lost Canadians”, or as some have called it the French Canadian “diaspora”, have applied for a certificate of citizenship to claim what our ancestors left behind. Once they had settled into “Little Canadas” in the U.S., the return was no longer an option for them. If Robert Frost meant what he said about fences and neighbors, Canadians in America had to jump that fence, but getting back over it was nearly impossible for most.

Up until today, the fence has been invisible to most Franco-Americans like me steeped in a culture rich in language, food, and for some, at least, faith of the homeland. We feel less like neighbors across a border and more like friends because we are family!

I, like so many others on both sides are scratching our heads today when it comes to punishing tactics that will not serve to fortify long-term relationships between us. How will we maintain our friendship that means so much to so many when we bet the dairy farm on an unnecessary trade war with trading partners over the fence? Even the cows know, it makes no sense, no cents at all!

By the time this thing gets settled, I will be back across the fence in my own backyard after a summer in a friendly neighborhood full of music and goodness of life on every corner. When I return next time it will be as a Canadian citizen “by descent”. It will be like coming home.

A bientot, Québec!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sAZOsf8m4PrBlYkZrZAp1HrC0FTgh5sc/view?usp=drivesdk