The United States has sent a new ambassador to Canada. David Jacobson, originally from Chicago, will take up the reigns from outgoing ambassador David Wilkins.
Jacobson hails from Chicago, is married, and has two children (one that attends school in Montreal).
While he’s coming into one of the most US-friendly countries in the world, he’s also coming in at a time where Canada/US tensions are at an all time high, and I think he’s going to find representing our biggest trading partner a challenge.
He’s already outlined what the priorities are in his mind: trade, energy, the environment, and border security/foreign policy. All of these are huge in their own right, and all very tightly intertwined.
Trade is a multi-faceted issue encompassing American protectionism and effects of increased border security. Jacobson needs to be ready to hear strong, passionate views from Canadians and business groups on this topic.
Energy and the environment are also massive topics. On one hand the US is highly dependent on Canada to provide energy resources to them. On another, legislation is being considered in the US that will place environmental restrictions on how Canadian energy exports are collected and refined.
And of course there’s the foreign policy aspect, of which he’ll find challenging as long as elected officials in America keep making comments that rub Canada the wrong way.
David Jacobson has said that he’s looking forward to travelling through Canada, talking to people about how to strengthen the relationship between the US and Canada. I think he’s going to hear a lot more than his predecessor did.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment