Early Visit to Canada by President Obama Offers Unique Opportunity to Re-Shape the Canada-United States Partnership, CCCE Head Says

January 14, 2009

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other Canadian leaders should seize the opportunity to re-shape the Canada-United States relationship when President Obama visits Canada following the inauguration, says Thomas d’Aquino, Chief Executive and President of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE).

“The commitment of the President-Elect to deal with the severe economic crisis, to strengthen defences against terrorism and to re-define America’s position in the world offers Canadians an important opening,” Mr. d’Aquino said in remarks to a conference in Montreal hosted by the Canadian Bar Association and the American Bar Association.  He was speaking on a panel with James Blanchard, former Michigan Governor and former United States Ambassador to Canada, moderated by Raymond Chrétien, former Canadian Ambassador to the United States.

“We are each other’s largest market for goods and investment,” Mr. d’Aquino added.  “Our industries are international, relying on shared strengths to compete with the world.  We are bound by geography to the mutual defence of our continent.  Our shared values and interests – in building prosperity, ensuring environmental sustainability, promoting democracy and contributing to global peace and security – drive our cooperation on a vast range of issues within North America and around the world.”

Despite the many strong ties between Canada and the United States, the bilateral relationship has suffered in recent years, Mr. d’Aquino said.  “The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, understandably led the United States to put its security ahead of economic interests.  Its political environment also turned inward, becoming skeptical and at times hostile to the idea of economic openness.  Our two countries have continued to work together on many fronts, but progress has been sluggish at best.”

The CCCE head called for “an all-Canadian approach to the United States built on confidence, trust and genuine friendship – an approach that must be embraced first and foremost by Prime Minister Harper and Canada’s parliamentary leaders, buttressed by the important role of Canada’s Premiers.”

“In the pursuit of Canadian interests we must be smart, and tough when we have to be. But our two-way discourse must be marked by uncompromising civility and respect.”

He added: “There is a need to take a fresh look at three aspects of the bilateral relationship.  The first is the way we manage economic integration, especially in terms of the impact of our shared border on the flow of goods and people.  The second is how we approach the issue of energy security and environmental sustainability, and in particular the potential development of a North American market in emissions trading for greenhouse gases.  The third is our defence and security alliance, and our ability to work together both in North America and in promoting peace and security worldwide.”

Mr. d’Aquino stressed the unique opportunity for Canadian leadership.  “In November 2008, Americans voted overwhelmingly for change.  They have elected a new leader with a strong mandate and Congressional backing.  They also face a deep economic crisis as well as an urgent need to re-build their country’s relationships globally.  Canada can and should help on all fronts.”

“We are working together closely within the G8, the G20 and other bodies to ensure a coordinated response to the global economic situation.  We should be collaborating on the goal of achieving an effective global approach to addressing climate change.  We are natural partners in promoting human rights and respect for the rule of law.  We remain firm allies in the struggle against the Taliban in Afghanistan and in contributing to peace and security around the world.”

“By working closely with the United States on these broad global issues, we enhance our country’s stature and influence internationally,” Mr. d’Aquino said.  “Above all, though, we are neighbours, partners and friends in North America, and strategic cooperation with the United States in the global arena plays an essential role in attracting attention and winning support in the United States for meaningful action on the bilateral issues that matter most to Canada.”

The CCCE is the senior voice of Canadian business, representing 150 chief executives and leading entrepreneurs from all major sectors and regions of the country.

Founded in 1976, the CCCE is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization committed to making Canada “the best place in the world in which to live, to work, to invest and to grow.”

In addition to Mr. d’Aquino, the members of the CCCE’s Executive Committee are:  Chair, Gordon M. Nixon, President and Chief Executive Officer, Royal Bank of Canada; Honorary Chair Richard L. George, President and Chief Executive Officer of Suncor Energy Inc.; and Vice Chairs Dominic D’Alessandro, Paul Desmarais, Jr., Jacques Lamarre, Hartley T. Richardson and Annette Verschuren, the chief executives respectively of Manulife Financial, Power Corporation of Canada, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., James Richardson & Sons, Limited and The Home Depot Canada and Asia.