Crude quarrel: Canada invokes treaty to negotiate fate of Line 5 pipeline with USA

Global News in Canada shows that the Canadian government is invoking a 1977 treaty to halt the shutdown of Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vowed to turn off its taps over environmental concerns.

The pipeline transports oil from Western Canada all the way to Southwestern Ontario, but passes through Michigan along the Great Lakes shared by both countries.

Eric Sorensen looks at how the crude quarrel is pitting Canada against the United States, as well as economists against environmentalists.

Relations between the countries of Canada and the United States have historically been extensive, given the 2 countries' shared border, which is the longest in the world, and ever-increasing cultural and economic ties. The shared historical and cultural heritage has resulted in one of the most stable and mutually beneficial important international relationships in the world.

For both countries, the level of trade with the other is at the top of the annual combined import-export total. Tourism and migration between the 2 neighboring nations have increased rapport.

The USA is approximately 9.25 times larger in population.

In history, the so-called war of 1812 saw invasions across the border. In 1815, the war ended with the border unchanged and demilitarized, as were the Great Lakes.