Obama’s [decision to suspend the Keystone XL decision] marked a triumph of campaign posturing over pragmatism and diplomacy, and it brought U.S.-Canadian relations to their lowest point in decades. It was hardly the first time that the administration has fumbled issues with Ottawa. Although relations have been civil, they have rarely been productive. Whether on trade, the environment, or Canada’s shared contribution in places such as Afghanistan, time and again the United States has jilted its northern neighbor. If the pattern of neglect continues, Ottawa will get less interested in cooperating with Washington. Already, Canada has reacted by turning elsewhere — namely, toward Asia — for more reliable economic partners.
– Derek Burney and Fen Hampson, “How Obama Lost Canada”, published June 21, 2011 by Foreign Affairs
The thesis put forward by Burney — a former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. and Hampson – an academic at Carleton University — has generated some pushback. Continue reading US Ambassador pushes back on "Obama lost Canada" meme