Why is it important for Canadian's to study the Alaska boundary dispute?

Answer 1

The most central reason for studying this dispute has to do with the fact that, at the time it occurred, Britain took responsibility for Canada's foreign affairs. Canada has no foreign affairs department of its own. This had the very unfortunate consequence that Canada lost the dispute because Britain sided with the United States. The government of Canada learned that it could not trust Britain to handle its foreign affairs.

That was the central reason. There are other reasons for giving consideration to this short span of history. First of all, it can be said that the boundary dispute arose in part because Alaska is more naturally a geographic part of Canada than of the United States. This incident is a reminder of the United States long claim to its natural right to govern all of North America, including Canada. But indeed, Alaska could as easily be part of Canada.

Another reason for learning about the dispute has to do with the way the Canadian government was pushed into this losing proposition at all. President Theodore Roosevelt sensed a need to exert force without exposing his hand publicly. He therefore sent troops to the border area quietly and deceitfully explained to Prime Minister Laurier that he had done so to preserve order. In fact, this was a veiled threat. Laurier responded by asking the American ambassador to be allowed to go to arbitration, so that the Canadian people would not know that the Canadian government was being humiliated by Roosevelt.