Advertisement

Border security agreement a big deal in Canada, not in U.S.

Andy Radia
·Politics Reporter

It seems Canadians are a lot more interested in the details of the border security deal than the Americans are.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama unveiled the details of a much-touted perimeter security initiative at the White House Wednesday afternoon.

The agreement includes measures that erect a thicker wall of security around the continent, while easing trade barriers at the border between the two countries.

For weeks, the story has made headlines in Canadian newspapers as journalists and pundits made their predictions about what the deal might include.

But, while the story is big news in Canada, it was barely mentioned in the US media.

Even after Harper's and Obama's Wednesday afternoon press conference, the American news outlets remain unenthusiastic about reporting the agreement.

At the Washington Post's website, for example, the only mention of the story is an Associated Press piece posted prior to the announcement that says this:

"President Barack Obama welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to the White House Wednesday for talks on economic competitiveness, security and other key issues.

"Following their meeting, they'll give statements."

The only reference to the agreement at CNN.com is in White House producer Emily Schulze's blog from Wednesday morning.

"President Obama will welcome out northern neighbor, Canadian Prime minister Stephen Harper to the White House later today," she wrote.

"Topics of disccusion are expected to include boarder security and TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline."

And, in the New York Times, the story is not a 'headline story,' not even on their politics page. By comparison, the newspaper has 3 stories relating to the Mexican border.

While it's no secret Americans pay little attention to Canada, the lack of interest in this deal, is a little surprising given that Canada is still the United States' largest trading partner, with more than $1 billion in goods crossing the border every day.