Sometime around 1865, Francis “Frank” Browne crossed the Atlantic from St. Austell, Cornwall, England. He was part of a generation of young, skilled British tradesmen who left dying mining towns looking for work across the seas. These men had few prospects at home, but many abroad. Frank landed in Canada.
Immigration was malleable then. To move about the world was easy, if you could afford passage. Frank had some money. Soon after landing in Canada, Frank left some relatives behind to strike out for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in the United States. There, he’d drop the “e” off the end of Brown, join a mining boom and start a family.
My family.
My great-great-great grandfather’s story is a common one in this part of the world. A lot of those Michigan “Cousin Jacks” ended up on the Mesabi Iron Range in a generation or two. That’s what happened with Frank’s son William, whose son Ward held me as a baby a month before he died.
The Great Lakes industrial zones of the U.S. and Canada are really the same region. We even talk the same. The big lakes attracted a massive labor force from around the world and industrialized a continent with material clawed from the earth itself.
So forgive me for wondering why, today, the national border that cuts through this region is suddenly a reason to start a trade war. After all, Canada is a nation of many resources and relatively few people. It poses no threat to the U.S. and yet remains a good friend to have. Why would we start treating Canada like a foreign adversary, on the scale of China or Russia?
It’s not an easy question to answer without criticizing the present administration’s trade policy. After spending some time talking to Canadian trade officials, I see a path forward based on the spirit of friendly rivalry found on the curling rink.
Read “These days, Minnesota-Canada tension spills off the ice,” (gift link) in the Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025 edition of the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Aaron J. Brown is a columnist and member of the editorial board for the Minnesota Star Tribune. His new book about Hibbing Mayor Victor Power and his momentous fight against the world’s largest corporation will be out soon.
