On February 18th, our Nation’s capital was abuzz with excitement over United States President Barack Obama’s visit to Ottawa. 

In this time of global economic challenge, the visit was a real testament to the strong bond between our two countries.

The focused working visit between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Obama continued the often-practiced tradition of US presidents making Canada their first foreign visit after taking office.

Prime Minister Harper and President Obama’s meeting included discussions on tackling the global economic downturn and working collaboratively with world leaders towards global solutions. The leaders also discussed ways to tackle climate change and energy security, as well as ways of responding to international security challenges.

This spirit of cooperation and shared learning was evident in the exchanges between Prime Minister Harper and President Obama. The two leaders are strikingly similar in their management style and approach to issues.

President Obama has himself noted his own ties to Canada, both with his family in Burlington, Ontario and his oft-noted appreciation for the Waterloo-made Blackberry.

The President has also gone out of his way to compliment the Conservative government’s handling of the global economic crisis. In a pre-visit interview with CBC’s Peter Mansbridge, President Obama noted that he sees our government as “a pretty good manager of the financial system and the economy,” especially in the wake of the global economic crisis. He even suggested that the United States could learn from Canada’s example of a vibrant, yet stable banking and financial system.

Canadians sometimes forget that America is our largest trading partner; the size of the partnership is unmatched between any other countries in the world.  For example, our wells and oil sands supply them with almost twice as much oil as any other country.

In addition, our automobile manufacturing industries are fully integrated, and this has helped us to work collaboratively with the Ontario and US governments to develop opportunities to protect jobs and strengthen this critical industry.

Our relationship with the United States has evolved and grown over the two centuries that we have shared a common continent. As President John F. Kennedy once said, “Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder.”

Since first coming to power, the Conservative government has worked hard to build on the existing strong relationship that Canada enjoys with the United States.  In fact, it was a Conservative government that helped broker the North American Free Trade Agreement. Since 2006, we’ve worked to resolve the Softwood Lumber issue and have successfully negotiated the re-opening of the Canada-US border to livestock trade. Every single day, 1.5 billion dollars in trade flows back and forth across our common border.

As we move forward, our Conservative government will continue to develop a stronger working relationship with our closest neighbour and largest trading partner. We thank President Obama for confirming his own commitment to our common bond by making Canada his first international visit as President of the United States, and we look forward to his return.

Guy Lauzon, MP
Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry