9/11 hijacks the NAFTA, COVID-19 says "hold my beer" : a tale of two border closures

9/11 and the COVID-19 pandemic were once-in-a-generation events with profound implications for US–Canada border management. Following September 11, 2001, the two countries collaborated on a border management regime that was highly integrated but also intended as a battle line in the war on terror. At the same time, the need to support growing NAFTA supply chains required creative public policy to keep border efficiency on par with border security. These arrangements set the tone for bilateral border management for nearly 20 years, but by 2020, the two governments were due for a reset. However, instead of planned border modernization, COVID-19 closed the borders to all but essential travel and trade for 18 months, disrupting border communities, casting doubt on the resilience of cross-border supply chains, but also accelerating the use of digital, touchless, border technologies. This chapter examines how border management by two sovereign nations has been driven by crisis, accelerating some actions but also leaving important needs unmet. As the two nations face new challenges of the global migration crisis and the movement of illicit products, this chapter makes the case for mechanisms for joint border collaboration that don’t require a crisis to be effective.