Canadians Need to Earn America’s Trust, Says Ambassador
HALIFAX—Canada’s ambassador to the United States says Canadians have to do a better job of selling Americans on the benefits of our interdependence on issues like trade and security.
David MacNaughton told a business audience in Halifax than no one in Congress and few of the nine million Americans whose jobs depend directly on trade with Canada seem to know it.
MacNaughton says Canada’s top priority with the incoming Donald Trump administration will be showing it the importance of working together in a constructive and reliable way on issues such as the North American Free Trade Agreement.
He says Canada will need to convince the Americans that Canada is a trusted partner when it comes to defence, security and prosperity.
He says that’s particularly important because of the more than $2.4 billion in goods and services that are traded each day between the two countries.
MacNaughton says the issues should resonate for a province like Nova Scotia, which alone does $10 million in business each day with the U.S., and last year sent 70 per cent of its exports south of the border.