Looking Through the Mirror: A Historical Geographical View of the Canadian-American Borderlands

Randy William Widdis

Journal of Borderlands Studies, 2015, vol. 30, issue 2, 175-188

Abstract: Canada's collective biography since 1784 has had one consistent theme addressed in each of its chapters, and that is its relationship with the United States. The country has been profoundly affected by this connection, and any attempt to understand the development of Canada and its constituent regions must recognize this factor. This paper has four goals: to reflect briefly on the relative importance of the border in Canadian and American society; to consider the relative importance of the transnational perspective and the borderlands concept in light of the bias shown in both countries towards nationalist interpretations of history; to address some of the conceptual, theoretical, and data challenges that confront those who attempt to study the evolution of the Canadian-American borderlands; and to argue briefly that those who deliberate on the future public policy implications of political, economic and security developments currently affecting the Canada-United States border and, consequently, Canadian-American relations, need to situate these issues and relations in historical and geographical context in order to gain necessary perspective and avoid making statements and policies that promote resentful cultural divisions.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1080/08865655.2015.1045921

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