On the 20th of January, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said, “This bargain no longer works. Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.” Should citizens of the United States be concerned about a potential rupture of the U.S.-Canada alliance? Yes, and here are three reasons why…
(1) Land is power…
- Canada is the second largest nation in the world by total area (List of the World’s Largest Countries and Dependencies by Area, 2026). It barely has more square kilometers than the United States. Russia has approximately 40% more land (8,000,000 sq km) than either the USA or Canada.
| Area of Countries in Square Kilometers | |
| Country: | Square Kilometers: |
| Russia | 17,075,400 |
| Canada | 9,968,242 |
| United States1 | 9,866,632 |
| China | 9,572,900 |
| Brazil | 8,510,418 |
| Australia | 7,688,126 |
(2) Borders are security…
- At 8,891 km, the border between the United States and Canada is the longest in the world (Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness, 2012). It is also one of the most peaceful borders in the world, but it was not always this way (Bercuson, 2001). The length, history, and geographic position (i.e. between the U.S. mainland and Russia, Alaska, and the arctic) of the U.S.-Canada border creates exceptional risks or advantages depending on the international relationship status of these countries.
| Length of Borders in Kilometers | |
| Country: | Kilometers: |
| Canada – United States | 8,893 |
| Kazakstan – Russia | 7,644 |
| Argentina – Chile | 6,691 |
| China – Mongolia | 4,630 |
| Bangladesh – India | 4,142 |
| China – Russia | 4,133 |
(3) Economic resources create opportunity…
- The United States second-largest single nation trading partner is Canada (US Census Bureau, 2026), and Canada’s largest single-nation trading partner, by far, is the United States (Government Of Canada, Statistics Canada, 2025). The United States has been running trade deficits with its three largest single-nation trading partners (Mexico, Canada, and China) for years (Economy: Visualizing 30 Years of Imports From U.S. Trading Partners, 2023; United States Trade Balance, Exports, Imports by Country and Region 2023 | WITS Data, n.d.). A quick look at US Census Bureau data reveals the most recent trade surplus with any of these nations was with Mexico in 1994 (US Census Bureau, 2026). Trade surpluses and deficits need to be interpreted in context (The Observatory of Economic Complexity, n.d.-usa/can), and the context of the United States trade deficit can be interpreted as an excess not scarcity of economic resources and opportunities (WITA, 2021).
| Largest Trading Partners of the United States | |
| Country: | Total annual trade in billions USD as of (Month, Year): |
| Mexico | $632.3 (Sep, 2024); $731.2 (Oct, 2025) |
| Canada | $572.9 (Sep, 2024); $606.7 (Oct, 2025) |
| China | $426.9 (Sep, 2024); $357.2 (Oct, 2025) |
Canada’s land area holds a vast amount of untapped natural resources and affords plenty of area for population growth and economic expansion as global temperatures continue to trend upward. Canada’s long border and location between the U.S. mainland and Alaska suggests the United States would be divided from its largest state without its largest geographic ally. The absence of a U.S.-Canadian alliance would turn the World’s longest and most peaceful border into a geopolitical and defense nightmare while separating the United States from strategic partnerships and diverse resources in Canada and the arctic.
So, is Canada the USA’s most important strategic ally? Probably.
While Mexico currently provides more affordable consumer products, Canada continues to be the United States second-largest trading partner and largest ally by geographic area and border length. These three factors only scratch the surface of the data that could be analyzed to determine the most important strategic partner of the United States. But, they begin to explain why Canada is probably the United States’s most strategic ally, and why a realization of “…a rupture…” between these two nations could prove disastrous for both of them.
SOURCES:
As Tariffs Loom, Which Countries Are America’s Biggest Trade Partners? (2024). https://www.usnews.com/. Retrieved January 25, 2026, from https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/which-countries-are-the-biggest-u-s-trade-partners
Canada Trade Balance | Historical Data | Chart | 1961-2023. (n.d.). macrotrends.net. Retrieved January 25, 2026, from https://www.macrotrends.net/datasets/global-metrics/countries/can/canada/trade-balance-deficit
Bercuson, D. (2001). THE WORLD’S LONGEST DEFENDED BORDER: a return to the days of militarisation. In IBRU Boundary and Security Bulletin. https://www.durham.ac.uk/media/durham-university/research-/research-centres/ibru-centre-for-borders-research/maps-and-databases/publications-database/boundary-amp-security-bulletins/bsb9-4_bercuson.pdf#:~:text=The%20notion%20of%20the%20%E2%80%9Cworld’s%20longest%20undefended,all%20outstanding%20border%20disputes%20by%20peaceful%20means.
Economy: Visualizing 30 Years of Imports from U.S. Trading Partners. (2023, November 23). visualcapitalist.com. Retrieved January 25, 2026, from https://www.visualcapitalist.com/30-years-imports-us-trading-partners/
Government Of Canada, Statistics Canada. (2025, March 6). Merchandise trade: Canada’s 10 principal trading partners – Balance-of-payments basis, seasonally adjusted, current dollars. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/250306/t001a-eng.htm
List of the world’s largest countries and dependencies by area. (2026, January 9). https://www.britannica.com/. Retrieved January 25, 2026, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-the-total-areas-of-the-worlds-countries-dependencies-and-territories-2130540
Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness. (2012). Considerations for United States – Canada Border Traffic Disruption Management. In http://www.dhs.gov. Public Safety. Retrieved January 25, 2026, from https://www.dhs.gov/
Statista. (2025, November 28). Global land border length between countries. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1103985/border-length-between-countries/?srsltid=AfmBOoqGRzLmhUbp7H56BE2ZF1QPdvFFmRi9OXGHyari7fcW94i0B_Yd
The Observatory of Economic Complexity. (n.d.-usa). The Observatory of Economic Complexity. https://oec.world/en/profile/country/usa
The Observatory of Economic Complexity. (n.d.-can). The Observatory of Economic Complexity. https://oec.world/en/profile/country/can
United States trade balance, exports, imports by country and region 2023 | WITS Data. (n.d.). https://wits.worldbank.org/CountryProfile/en/Country/USA/Year/2023/TradeFlow/EXPIMP
US Census Bureau. (2026). International trade. https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/highlights/topcm.html#sur
US Census Bureau. (2026b). International trade (Canada). https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c1220.html
US Census Bureau. (2026c). International trade (China). https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html
US Census Bureau. (2026d). International trade (Mexico). https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c2010.html
WITA. (2021, August 13). The U.S. Trade Deficit – WITA. https://www.wita.org/ustrade/us-trade-trends/the-us-trade-deficit/
Deliberating Truth 