We share the longest undefended border in the world. We speak mostly the same language (especially in Minnesota). We are among each other's top trade partners. Apart from a bit of nastiness during the War of 1812, we've not invaded one another.

President John F. Kennedy caught the essence of the U.S.-Canada relationship in 1961: "Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder."

Admittedly, relations have been jittery lately. The tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump as he was looking to upend NAFTA, lashing out at Canada for what he baselessly called "decades of abuse" on trade? That hurt. And that time his top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, said there was a "special place in hell" for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau? Well, that was rude.

Through the ups and downs, Canada has been like that best friend who, even when you occasionally lose your temper and treat them a bit shabbily, won't turn their back on you.

And there's been a bit of rapprochement of late. Trump hosted Trudeau at the White House in June without incident, even tweeting out an orchestrally scored video of his arrival, telling reporters it was an "honor" to have him visit and calling Trudeau "a friend of mine." Hopefully Trump is learning what Canada already knows: There's value in friendships and alliances that stand the test of both time and circumstance.

This "special relationship" goes beyond trade, beyond culture. On a recent pass through Minnesota to attend the July 1 Canada Day celebration, Major General Simon Hetherington drew attention to the deep connections and trust between our two militaries. Canada has hundreds of troops at all levels embedded in the U.S., from its full partnership at NORAD to the Air National Guard in Duluth.

Hetherington, Canada's senior defense attache to the U.S., said there are 700 men and women in uniform embedded across the U.S. He served at Fort Bragg for two years as third-in-command of a U.S. Army formation of 92,000 American troops stretching from New York to Georgia.

Canadian and American special ops troops work side-by-side in the Middle East. Canadian naval vessels are doing drug interdiction off the coast of California with U.S. Coast Guard officers on board. "It's that relationship that endures based on history, based on like-mindedness, shared values, all those things," Hetherington told an editorial writer.

Acting Consul General Ariel Delouya added that "irrespective of who the president is, who the prime minister is, the relationship is just so deep that it transcends personalities."

One final example of how deep the trust runs between our two countries: On 9/11, a Canadian officer, Mike Jellinek, was watch commander at NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain. When planes struck New York and the Pentagon, no U.S. officer was subbed in. Jellinek stayed at the helm and was a key player in clearing U.S. airspace of all planes and redirecting international flights to his own country, where Canadians took in stranded passengers.

Friends like that, you keep no matter what.