CARIBOU, Maine — During a visit to Aroostook County Tuesday, Canada’s consul general to New England focused on trade issues and the importance of maintaining a strong business relationship between Canada and the U.S.
“We are closest trading partners, the closest allies, and, quite literally, we are friends and neighbors,” Consul General David Alward told members of the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce during a breakfast gathering at the Caribou Inn and Convention Center. “If you think about trade and the importance to each state, Canada is the No. 1 trading partner with 35 states in the U.S. That includes [Maine and four of the other five] New England states.”
Alward, who also is a former premier of New Brunswick, added that 400,000 jobs are directly related to trade between Canada and the U.S. Maine alone contains 38,500 jobs related to commerce across the border.
“We can’t forget that our most important trading partner is the country and community right next door,” the consul general said. “When Canada sells you an item, on average, 25 percent of that item originated by somebody making a job and creating it in the U.S. So there is real bilateral economic benefit when the U.S. and Canada do business.”
Referring to several Aroostook County firms with Canadian ties, he said there are plenty of businesses that benefit both sides of the border, such as Cavendish Agri Services, Irving, and McCain Foods.
“All of these companies are benefitting all of our region,” said Alward. “As we go forward, very often we can get into discourse about whether trade is good or not. Ultimately, it allows businesses to employ people. Employed people have the ability to build strong communities and families, which means that government has the taxes it can invest back into its people. The reality is that trade will benefit all of us.”
Alward also spoke about how the two countries work together through the Beyond the Border program to secure boundaries and address any threats while still providing for trade and travel.
“We work closely together on everything from intelligence and inspections to make sure that when things come into Canada or the U.S., the other can have confidence in the work that each of us does,” he said.
This served as a segue to the topic of Syrian refugees, and Canada’s efforts to welcome and resettle them into their country.
“Canada took a little different approach to the Syrian refugee crisis,” said Alward. “With the new government, they committed to 25,000 refugees being accepted into Canada, and we are actually over that number now.”
Canada and the United States are working closely together to ensure the safety of their own citizens while accepting immigrants, Alward pointed out.
“There is a very robust evaluation process to go through,” he said of Canada’s immigration efforts. “We also work with groups that are lower risk, which primarily means women, children, and families. You can have full confidence in the assessment process that we go through.”
In response to an audience observation that many people living in the surrounding regions feel as though they are at the “end of the world,” in terms of being challenged by population decline, high energy costs and an aging workforce, Alward ended his presentation by encouraging an optimistic approach.
“Whether you’re in northern Maine or rural New Hampshire, Vermont, or even some areas of Massachusetts, you feel like you’re at the end of the world,” said Alward. “That’s why it’s important to come together and build solutions. If we look at our own individual circumstances, it can be a pretty depressing day, but if you can come together with people that have a vision for tomorrow or who believe in their community, it helps build a little momentum that can allow good things to happen.”