The geography of North America almost wants the U.S. and Canada to be trading partners. Andrew Holman, director of the Canadian studies program at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts, pointed out major mountain ranges and rivers run north south on the continent, which lends itself to trade.
“But I think that there's something bigger here as well,” Holman said. “It’s that Americans and Canadians — for all their differences — have the same kind of character.”
Holman, who grew up in Ontario, said there is a cultural affinity between the two countries, along with similar consumer tastes. In a way, they grew up together.
“They know one another, despite the fact that Canadians complain from time to time that ‘Big Brother’ should know more about Little Brother,’” he said.
And like siblings, the two countries have often fought as they’ve traded stuff.
Holman pointed to the 1870s, when John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, put in place something called the National Policy, which included a protective tariff.
“Manufacturers in Canada would be protected from competition from external producers, and the United States, of course, followed suit not too long after,” Holman said.
Some of the rhetoric from politicians back then didn’t sound too different from what we hear today. | 
