Since the 1940's when Prime Minister Mackenzie King signed the Ogdensburg Agreement, which acknowledged a joint board on the defence of North America, the Canadian-American cooperation in the defence of the continent has persisted and remained strong regardless of the continuous and evolving challenges. This relationship was tested rigorously over the years, especially during the 1950's.

During this period, at the peak of the Cold war, Canadian and American defence relations were quite strong. The security of the entire continent was put at risk by the constant threat of nuclear strike. In September 1957, Canada and the United States agreed to create the "North American Air Defence Command", better known as NORAD . Its main purpose was to defend the continent against the ever growing threat of Soviet bombers. On May 12th 1958, NORAD was formed and a strong defence relationship was formed between the two nations; one that would last for years. The formation included 11 principles which would govern the establishment and call for a renewal of the agreement, which was performed in 1968. The NORAD agreement between the two nations has been improved and revised several times since:

"The benefits of continuing this relationship (Canadian - American) are as valid today as ever before. First, Canada gains inestimable training and operational experience applicable not only to North America, but also to UN and other multilateral missions abroad. Second, Canada retains an influential voice in US defence policy formulation in areas where our security interests are directly involved. Third, Canada obtains access to significant defence-related information that would not otherwise be available. Fourth, Canadian companies benefit from access to important technologies and the large US defence market".

With over 85% of total exports going to the U.S., it is trivial to see that Canada is dependant on the U.S. Defence is also another key dependency that Canadians take for granted. If Canada were attacked tomorrow by some rogue nation, it would be almost impossible to defend ourselves without the help of the United States. This is the main reason why Canada must maintain strong ties with the Americans.

However, the importance of sovereignty is somewhat more important to Canadians then allowing the U.S. take over command; that is after all what it means to be Canadian.

The crumbling soviet superpower was beginning to disarm its nuclear arsenal and it seemed that North America was protected by the great Oceans. The recent events of September 11th provide relevance that NORAD has to North America, as both Canada and the United States address homeland defence.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1125
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)