Donald Trump’s posts and memes about turning Canada into the 51st state are almost without parallel among western democracies, said Carlo Dade, director of trade at the Canada West Foundation.

Trump’s comments, which he and his allies have downplayed as mere trolling, pale in comparison to the rhetoric about missile strikes and special forces incursions that his supporters have deployed against Mexico.

But they are a sure sign that Canada is dealing with an administration that cares little for the niceties of sovereignty. Both Canada and Mexico will have to balance their need to maintain cross-border trade with protecting their ability to make decisions and control what happens within their own borders.

Dade observed that difference when he was participating in discussions on a possible North America-wide trusted traveller program.

“The take was we could get rid of issues like the visa issue if we had an integrated system,” he said. "And the Mexicans basically said, ‘You all have just lost your minds.’

“There was no way they would allow U.S. law enforcement to enforce U.S. law on Mexican soil, to stop, question, search Mexican citizens. We had two really, really stark differences of opinion. Canadians were like, ‘If it gets me to skip a half-hour line in Vegas, sign me up.’”

The practical result is that while the U.S. and Canada collaborate on the NEXUS traveller program for citizens of both countries, the Americans unilaterally set up a SENTRI program aimed at Mexicans that operates with little or no Mexican government input.