FOREIGN RELATIONS

Canada has a close relationship with the United States, sharing the world's longest undefended border, co-operating on some military campaigns and exercises, and being each other's largest trading partners. Canada also shares a history and long relationship with Great Britain as its "mother country". In the last century, Canada has made an effort to reach out to the rest of the world and promotes itself as a "middle power" which can work with both large and small nations. This was clearly demonstrated during the Suez Crisis whereby Lester B. Pearson mollified the tension by introducing the idea of peacekeeping and the inception of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force. In 1957, Lester B. Pearson was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. In that spirit, Canada developed and has tried to maintain a leading role in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force. Canada currently serves in 40 different peacekeeping missions, the most recent mission being the deployment of Canadian troops in Afghanistan. Canada is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, La Francophonie, the Organization of American States, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the World Trade Organization, the G8, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).