President John F. Kennedy stood before Canadian lawmakers elucidating the important relationship between the two countries: “Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners.”
“And necessity has made us allies,” Kennedy said in a 1961 address to Parliament.
But behind the scenes, the relationship between the charismatic Kennedy and then-prime minister John Diefenbaker was toxic.
With the looming United States election, the future of who will be at the helm of the bilateral relationship remains unclear, but Canada cannot escape the geopolitical pull of its closest neighbour.
While some presidents and prime ministers have been on friendly terms, the shared geography and history hasn’t stopped clashes between others.
“We have a long history of presidents and prime ministers hating each other’s guts… and yet the system works,” said Aaron Ettinger, a political science professor at Carleton University.
Experts say incompatible personalities won’t irreparably …