The Late Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau Once Likened Living Next to The

The late Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau once likened living next to the United States to sleeping with an elephant. "No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast," quipped Trudeau, "one is affected by every twitch and grunt." You don't get a lot of sleep.

First, Bush’s speech writers really did their homework and hit on many points relevant to Canadians. Besides the obligatory jokes about hockey, Bush captured Canada’s take on US Canada relations quite well by quoting Robert Thompson’s line about the US and by referring to Trudeau’s famous characterization of Canada US relations. Bush: “I realize, and many Americans realize, that it's not always easy to sleep next to the elephant. (Laughter) As a member of Canada's parliament said in the 1960s, "the United States is our friend whether we like it or not." (Laughter and applause) When all is said and done, we are friends, and we like it.” Prime Minister Trudeau: “Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.” Such cultural references were important for more than just establishing a common bound with the audience. As Rick Mercer would have told you, ever since the Prime Minister “Poutine” incident, Bush had the reputation of not caring about Canada and this was reflected in his perceived lack of knowledge of the country. The Bush administration, of course, recognized this and Bush made a joke about wanting to meet PM Poutine in his speech.

“For Americans,” says Youden, “ both Mexico and Canada are safe destinations. For Canadians, as former Prime Minister Trudeau said, ‘Living next door to the United States is like being in bed with an elephant, when the elephant rolls over, you pay attention.’ When a Canadian tells that story, the Mexicans understand what we are talking about. There is a natural affinity. They have some of the same questions we have: Are we losing our culture? How close to an elephant should you sleep? We have both had territorial disputes with the Americans and there is something in the character of both nations that reflects that.”