Conclusion

Abstract

In this concluding chapter we draw on the evidence from the previous chapters to evaluate the future of the Canada–US relationship. Chapters in this volume show shared institutions provide a platform for cooperation among public service professionals in both countries, occasionally including state and provincial officials. The shared institutions of the Canada–US relationship vary in the degree to which they are formalized. Some are treaty-based institutions with shared facilities, permanent personnel, and budgets; NORAD and the International Joint Commission are good examples of this. Less formal institutions include the NAFTA (now USMCA). Collectively they constitute interactions between the Canadian and US governments on a range of issues. In doing so, they provide an early diagnostic review of the health of shared institutions and the direction of the bilateral relationship. For many of the policy areas addressed, the authors find a trend toward sovereign action rather than management within shared institutions. And to some extent shared institutions are being called into question. The catalyst for change in each case is traced to the election of Donald Trump, but evidence too that in certain cases the origin of policy differences rests with changing public attitudes and priorities that leaders reflect.