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Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff waves as he walks to the Rideau Canal skateway in Ottawa on Feb. 9, 2011.Pawel Dwulit/The Canadian Press

Michael Ignatieff has little choice but to voice concerns about the perimeter security dialog Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama unveiled last week. It's unquestionably the role of an Opposition Leader to challenge the government and force accountability as this agenda moves forward.

Still, he might be excused for wondering if his criticisms have been doing much to wound the Conservative initiative, or to rally Canadians behind him.

There are a few reasons why Mr. Ignatieff may find his work on this issue a tough slog. First, Canadians get worried about being too close with America when one or more of the following conditions exist:

» They fear that the prime minister of the day is too weak or too affectionate towards the United States.

» They believe the sitting president or Congress has an agenda to take advantage of Canada.

» They sense great downside to warming the relationship.

None of these fears are presently evident in Canadian public opinion. Voters see Stephen Harper as less chummy and more businesslike with everyone, not just Americans. Of the criticisms heaved his way, that he lacks spine is very rarely heard.

Canadians sense America has many nettlesome issues, counts more than ever on reliable access to Canadian energy, and places a higher value of late on maintaining security alliances that have proven durable over generations.

Finally, the reflexive Canadian fear of getting crushed has changed to a more "open for discussion" point of departure on initiatives such as this. Opponents of free trade not only lost the battle about having a free trade agreement, but the burden of proof has now shifted as a result of the widespread view that free trade has been good for the Canadian economy. Unless a compelling case can be made that Canada will absolutely lose key elements of sovereignty through a perimeter security deal, we don't automatically assume that this will happen.

A new Harris Decima poll conducted for The Canadian Press is a striking example of this point. Eighty-four per cent like the idea of harmonizing food regulations, 75 per cent agree with the concept of shared intelligence gathering, and 70 per cent support collaboration in building border infrastructure. Not that many years ago, this would have been unheard of.

Part of the shift is reflective of how we feel about who is on the other side of the bargaining table. Barack Obama is someone most Canadians feel they can trust to do the right thing, and respect Canada in the process.

So, in this new context, Mr. Ignatieff is left to campaign for a more transparent negotiation. It is, at the end of the day, the most logical position for him to take, far more sensible than simply attacking the idea of any deal, no matter what it contains. At the same time, given the current state of public opinion it seems unlikely that this will become a major battleground issue, any time soon.

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