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With President Bush focused on rebuilding U.S. relations with Europe, big problems continue to brew with a longtime ally much closer to home. Canada: The new France? Not quite, but from long-simmering trade disputes over lumber and beef to a spat in recent weeks over missile defense, Canada-U.S. relations are at their lowest ebb in decades. "They're viewed as national, emotional issues there, that 'the Americans are out to get us,'" said David Biette, director of the Canada Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, which is in Washington. A report issued last week by the American Assembly,...

Prime Minister Paul Martin was called on yesterday to throw the book at his government's parliamentary secretary for Canada-U.S. relations after she said Canada should try to embarrass the United States on the world stage as unfair traders. The remarks by Marlene Jennings prompted Conservative finance critic Monte Solberg to say Ms. Jennings should be drummed out of her job. "The bungling on the Canada-U.S. file just continues on and on," he said. "When is she going to be kicked out of her position?" Ms. Jennings, a Quebec MP, made the comments at a Commons committee Tuesday. "Let's embarrass the...

Ottawa – Canada's rejection of missile defence is a historic shift in its relationship with the United States and could have deep unforeseen consequences, analysts warn. This week's announcement is more significant than Canada's refusal to join fighting in Iraq or Vietnam because, some say, this time the country has rejected a domestic defence plan. One military analyst in Washington says Canada has turned its back on a 67-year-old agreement signed by then-prime minister Mackenzie King and president Franklin Roosevelt to jointly defend North America. "This is a significant policy change, and it will clearly have consequences," says a briefing...

TORONTO, Feb. 23 - The Canadian government has refused to take part in a planned North America missile defense system despite personal lobbying by President Bush here last November, United States diplomatic officials said Wednesday. The long-awaited decision from Prime Minister Paul Martin was a symbolic setback for the Bush administration when it is trying to heal rifts with allies that emerged from the invasion of Iraq. It was conveyed privately to senior United States officials this week in Ottawa and at the NATO summit meeting in Brussels, United States diplomats said. Asked about the issue on Wednesday in Parliament,...

OTTAWA (CP) - A furious Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham recalled the ambassador to Iran on Wednesday after Tehran barred Canadian observers from the trial of a man charged with killing a Canadian journalist. An Iranian intelligence agent stands accused of "semi-intentional murder" in the death last year of Zahra Kazemi, a Montreal-based photographer of Iranian descent. "They had promised that we would have three observers," said Graham, who voiced his "extreme outrage" at the development. The trial is to start Saturday. "This is completely unacceptable behaviour on their part," Graham fumed. "It's a complete rejection of the rule of...

Mar. 14, 2004. 04:02 PM Canadians call U.S. best pal - Yanks pick Brits: Poll MONTREAL (CP) — The best-friend relationship that Canada and the United States once enjoyed might have become more of a one-way affair. While 50 per cent of Canadians in a recent Leger Marketing poll said the United States was Canada's "best friend," only 20 per cent of American respondents in the same survey felt likewise about their northern neighbour. Britain, which has forged even closer political ties with the United States in recent years, topped the best-friend list for 62 per cent of Americans. Twenty-five...

TORONTO, March 17 (Reuters) - Canada, which opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, said on Wednesday it will not send troops to the country, even if Spain pulls its soldiers out. Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham told a press conference in Toronto that Canada would not have a "military presence" in Iraq, but would continue to provide humanitarian aid to help rebuild the country. "Canada has committed itself to some C$300 million ($225 million) for the reconstruction of Iraq," he said. "We are doing our best to make sure the conditions for stability in Iraq are established." Ottawa refused to...

Toronto, ONT – According to the latest Ipsos-Reid/CTV/Globe and Mail poll released today, three quarters of Canadians (74%, up 3 points from 71% in December 2003) believe that Canada made the right decision by not going to war with Iraq.

The best-friend relationship that Canada and the U.S. once enjoyed might have become more of a one-way affair. While 50% of Canadians said the U.S. was our "best friend," only 20% of American respondents in the Leger Marketing poll felt likewise about their northern neighbour. Britain, which has forged even closer political ties with the U.S. in recent years, topped the best-friend list for 62% of Americans. Only 25% of Canadians chose Britain as their country's best buddy. The poll also suggested that 68% of Canadians thought the two countries were very different, while 29% believed they were very much...

OTTAWA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - New Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said on Monday he had tried to persuade U.S. President George W. Bush to let Canadian firms bid for lucrative Iraq reconstruction contracts but had not managed to get a firm commitment. Martin, who took over last week from Jean Chretien, said he would raise the question again with Bush when they hold a bilateral meeting next month on the sidelines of a summit in Monterrey, Mexico. Canada is unhappy the White House has limited bidding on the contracts to companies from nations that contributed troops to the war...

$18 billion in spoils of war contracts will be awarded to supportive nations OTTAWA -- The United States has excluded Canada from a list of countries eligible to bid on more than $18 billion in postwar reconstruction projects in Iraq. The Yanks cited the protection of "essential security interests" by limiting contracts to nations supportive of U.S.-led operations in the region. Tenders for some 26 Iraqi relief and reconstruction contracts worth $18.6 billion were expected to be formalized and posted as soon as late last night by the Coalition Provisional Authority, a rebuilding program spearheaded by the American government. But...

Dec 10, 2003 Canada Protests Pentagon Ruling Barring Iraq War Opponents From Bidding on Contracts By Matt Kelley Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon drew criticism from one U.S. ally after formally barring companies from countries opposed to the Iraq war from bidding on 26 reconstruction contracts. The ruling bars companies from U.S. allies such as France, Germany and Canada from bidding on those contracts - worth $18.6 billion - because their governments opposed the American-led war that ousted Saddam Hussein's regime. "If these comments are accurate ... it would be difficult for us to give further money...

Canada barred from Iraq contracts Associated Press Washington — The Pentagon has formally barred companies from countries opposed to the Iraq war from bidding on $18.6-billion (U.S.) worth of reconstruction contracts. A directive from Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz limits bidders on those 26 contracts to firms from the United States, Iraq, their coalition partners and other countries which have sent troops to Iraq. The ruling bars companies from U.S. allies such as France, Germany and Canada from bidding on the contracts because their governments opposed the American-led war that ousted Saddam Hussein's regime. The Wolfowitz memo, dated Friday and...

Proposal to U.S. to send 600-800 soldiers dropped suddenly in favour of Afghan plan Canada offered to send a battle group of up to 800 soldiers to take part in the U.S.-led war in Iraq, but the proposal was hastily withdrawn when the government unexpectedly announced it was sending troops on a UN-mandated mission in Afghanistan, defence documents show. Planning for a Canadian contribution to the conflict in Iraq was well advanced by mid-February, state the documents, which were obtained under federal access to information legislation. Defence sources say the U.S. Central Command, based in Tampa, Fla., was offered a...

It appears that the average Canadian has realized what most in the federal government have yet to. A poll commissioned by the Centre for Research and Information on Canada found that 44 percent of Canadians believe that Canada should have stronger ties to the United States. It's an increase of 18 percentage points since March and is at its highest point in three years. While Canadians are clearly growing concerned about their ties to the United States, Canada's government has done little to bridge the distance. Thanks in part to undiplomatic talk before and after George W. Bush's election, the...

Old labels perilous for foreign policy GRAHAM FRASER OTTAWA—Before Canada announced that it would not support the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham informed Secretary of State Colin Powell of the decision — but assured him that Canada would be respectful. The next day, to his horror, barnyard rhetoric was flying. The attempt to carve out a posture of respectful distance from the United States was derailed by a series of insults: the Prime Minister's press secretary calling President George W. Bush a moron, the natural resources minister calling him a failure as a statesman, and Liberal...

OTTAWA - The most urgent priorities facing prime minister-in-waiting Paul Martin is to repair Canada's relationship with Washington and implement swift reforms to the parliamentary system, including the election of Senators, says a leading think-tank headed by a close associate of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. The Public Policy Forum, run by David Zussman -- a key private sector advisor to Mr. Chrétien -- surveyed 75 senior executives across the country and concluded Canada's role in the world has "diminished" over the last decade under Mr. Chrétien's rule. Mr. Martin was urged to lead an early trip to Washington accompanied by...

BANGKOK -- Prime Minister Jean Chretien got only stony silence yesterday after his request for a meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush during the two-day APEC summit. The two were expected to bump into each other during the summit of 21 world leaders, but U.S. officials shrugged off a Canadian request for a formal meeting between the two. "We told them that if we can, we should sit down," a senior Canadian official, who requested anonymity, said. "If not, we'll meet in pull-asides (informal meetings)." Bush has already met with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, Chinese President Hu Jintao,...

BANGKOK—He scratched at the door, but White House officials weren't letting Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in yesterday. Chrétien has requested a formal one-on-one meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush during the two-day APEC summit here that starts today — but the demand so far has met with nothing more than silence. Chrétien and Bush were expected to bump into each other several times during the summit of 21 world leaders, but U.S. officials shrugged off a Canadian request for a formal bilateral meeting between the men, who have never had a close personal relationship. "We told them that if...

Bush snubs Chretien in Asia Chilly relationship continues at APEC summit BANGKOK - He scratched at the door, but White House officials weren't letting Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in today. The prime minister has requested a formal one-on-one meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush during the two-day APEC summit here this week - but the demand so far has met with nothing more than silence. Chrétien and Bush were expected to bump into each other several times during the summit of 21 world leaders, but U.S. officials shrugged off a Canadian request for a formal bilateral meeting between the...