utc the ratification of the great lakes commission finally commits american and canadian governments to the geographical definition of the north american great lakes as a distinctive political entity in fact and operation the complex cooperative management of the great lakes for purposes of trade border discipline parks transportation hydro power water management and environmental protection has been a reality since ethnically and economically the borders have always been porous politically the region has more bi national commonalities than generally supposed much of ontarian political culture derived from both anglo american heritage and the simultaneous influence and threat of american examples more importantly both the american and canadian sides played analogous roles in the world economy both sides of the border transformed from peripheries that supplied natural resources to semi peripheries that performed middle man brokerage functions to core regions represented by such world cities as chicago and toronto that provided hubs of capital administration and management history politics culture and ethnic composition as well as the more obvious economy technology and geology define ontario and american great lakes states as one region january