Artificial intelligence has increasingly garnered attention across industry, and all policy circles. Most recently, United States Senators Chuck Schumer, Todd Young, Martin Heinrich, and Mike Rounds banded together, releasing a roadmap for AI policy in the Senate. Ultimately, their report points to an overarching lesson: AI is not only complex, but also evolving, and thus requires all hands on deck to ensure the opportunities and risks of AI systems are being harnessed.

Within their report, the Senators make an important recommendation: to work with allies and international partners to advance multilateral agreements. Striking a balance between safety and innovation, the environment and the economy, and freedom and national security, have always been most effectively managed through partnerships between like-minded countries. And the fundamental reason these collaborative efforts are required is because these challenges do not

respect borders or charters, whether we’re talking about AI, the internet, carbon emissions, or international terrorism.

Much like the U.S., Canada has been developing legislative and regulatory frameworks for the responsible use of AI, starting with a voluntary code for development, titled The Voluntary Code of Conduct on the Responsible Development and Management of Advanced Generative AI Systems.

Canada has since progressed, and turned its attention to legislation currently in front of Parliament: Bill C-27. The bill was introduced in 2022, and would enact the Consumer Privacy Protection Act, the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act, and the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act.

Unfortunately, since C-27’s introduction in Parliament two years ago, there has not been enough movement. Canada has set the rules and requirements a little too broadly in some areas. Bill C- 27 regulates both low- and high-risk AI systems in similar ways, placing unique requirements on businesses that are not found in other jurisdictions around the world.

For example, the U.S., United Kingdom, Japan, and Australian governments have entrusted regulators to impose regulations to mitigate these risks. This decentralized approach has set a bar of emerging international norms and technical standards that should guide Canada’s—and other allied nations’—regulatory regime to ensure like-minded partners remain jurisdictions where there is interoperability for Canada’s AI players.

With AI—like many technology tools—context of deployment is key. There is not one high- level regulatory framework that can effectively cover the breadth of AI use cases. The U.S. Senators yearlong briefings, forums, and educational tour showcases that no single actor can unilaterally address AI. Indeed, the Senators state that leveraging public-private partnerships, alongside working with allies, helps support AI advancements, and minimize potential risks.

In a world where our countries negotiate free trade agreements that aim to better connect economies, supply chains, and people, it only makes sense to have aligned approaches and regulations for a tool that can strengthen productivity gaps, enhance how we communicate, and weave technologies into our economic fabric. This approach is good for Canada, good for the U.S., and all the businesses, entrepreneurs, and innovators on both sides of the border.

The strong relationship between Canada and the U.S. is guided by shared values. By working to create international rules and standards among our allied friends, Canada and the U.S. can act as leaders who recognize the reality of our increasingly connected global market, and help facilitate harmonization, promote investment, and create necessary clarity to foster shared prosperity. There’s no shortage of examples of ways we’ve successfully worked together to solve challenges, and AI regulation should be no exception.

With the world in a state of turmoil, the Canada-United States relationship seems an even bigger blessing than usual this year. As North Americans, we’re not just neighbors living peacefully side by side, but close friends, and have been for generations.

On a personal level, we may have loved ones living on the other side of the border. We may travel back and forth frequently, spending our hard-earned vacation time in one another’s countries. And when we do so, we can almost always count on a warm welcome as we cross the longest unmilitarized border in the world.

This friendship was on full display when President Joe Biden travelled to Ottawa for an official visit earlier this year, and during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent visit to Washington, D.C., to participate in the inaugural Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (APEP) Leaders’ Summit.

On the sidelines of the summit, the two leaders discussed shared priorities that included creating well-paying middle-class jobs while fighting climate change, as well as support for democracies, including Ukraine, and working to address foreign interference.

It is not just here in the North American sphere where Canada-U.S. harmony on critical issues is evident. Just last week, our countries participated together in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in San Francisco.

While President Biden’s meeting with China’s Xi Jinping was the marquee event of the summit, important discussions took place among all participants about the Israel-Hamas war, the effect of the war in Ukraine on global food supplies, the threats posed by climate change and the need to expand opportunities for international trade and economic growth throughout the Indo-Pacific. On these and a multitude of other issues, Canada and the U.S. are in synch.

These types of harmonious ties — aimed at the best interests of citizens while upholding democratic principles — are crucial as the North American neighborhood expands to include other like-minded friends and partners in the Americas and across the Pacific and the Atlantic.

As is necessary in all neighborhoods, ensuring the health and resilience of these emerging friendships will require care, nurturing and attention of the type demonstrated in recent bilateral visits and multi-national summits.

We all know how important it is to forge and tend to peaceful partnerships right now as we watch the horrendous events unfolding in the Middle East and continuing in Ukraine. That’s why both Canada and the U.S. have been stalwart supporters of the people of Ukraine and Israel as they fight tyranny and terrorism. Prime Minister Trudeau has travelled to Kyiv, while President Biden recently travelled to Tel Aviv.

As ongoing global turmoil is making clear, some regimes refuse to play by the rules, repeatedly violating international law and trouncing on human rights and environmental protections, causing chaos and confusion around the world.

In times of upheaval and uncertainty, it’s easy to focus on the negatives. But it’s often more helpful to focus on the positives, and they’re abundant in the Canada-U.S. relationship.

They include our commitment to playing by the same rules on everything from co-operating on measures against people and drug smuggling to conserving protected areas and ensuring the success of the USMCA, which has expanded trade, investment and jobs for workers across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

It also easy to take peaceful relationships for granted. The seamless flow of commerce and people across the Canada-U.S. border every day is something most Canadians and American rarely think about, but that people in other parts of the world would consider a true gift.

None of this is to suggest that Canada and the U.S. aren’t different. There is an array of differences between Canadians and Americans that go far beyond when we celebrate Thanksgiving. That we respect and understand one another’s differences is part of the strength of the relationship.

And as Americans gather around the Thanksgiving table on Thursday, among our most precious blessings is that Canada is our neighbor. In these trying times, our enduring friendship can and should serve as a model to the rest of the world.

Beth Burke is the Acting CEO of the Canadian American Business Council.  She looks forward to celebrating Canada/US relations in Ottawa at the CABC’s 29^th Annual State of the Relationship on Monday, November 27.

About the CABC: Established in 1987, the Canadian American Business Council is the leading non-profit, non-partisan, issues-oriented organization dedicated to fostering dialogue between the public and private sectors in Canada and the US. Members are key business leaders and stakeholders from both sides of the border ranging from entrepreneurs to best name brands in the world. Collectively, CABC members employ about two million people and have annual revenues of close to $1.5 trillion.  

Media Contact: Maryscott Greenwood, sgreenwood@cabc.co, 202-361-1597

Alberta Bourla, DVM, PH.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer accepted the award on behalf of the organization at the CABC’s 27^th Annual State of the Relationship. The recognition accounts for the extraordinary efforts of Pfizer and its leadership team to develop and deploy its COVID-19 vaccine, as well as its innovations in health care around the world.

“Each year, the CABC seeks to recognize businesses whose outsized contributions shape our society for the better,” says Maryscott Greenwood, CEO, CABC. “This year we are proud to award Pfizer with our Corporate Leadership Award. Pfizer has shown exceptional innovation and helped millions return to normal, including Canadians and Americans on both sides of the border. Its innovation and dedication have protected millions, reunited loved ones and rebuilt economies.”

During a time of uncertainty, Pfizer has led the way, creating solutions for the world to return to normal. Millions worldwide have received its life-saving Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine; one of the most ambitious vaccine development programs in history. It shattered previous vaccine development records and provided vaccinations within a year of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, more than 4.1 billion people worldwide have received a COVID-19 vaccination and Pfizer’s contribution to this has undoubtedly saved millions of lives.

Dr. Bourla, who has served as CEO of Pfizer since January 2019, led Pfizer through the entirety of the pandemic while embodying Pfizer’s purpose; breakthroughs that change patients’ lives, with a focus on driving the scientific and commercial innovation needed to have a transformational impact on human health.

“On behalf of Pfizer’s 80,000 colleagues around the world, I am honoured and humbled to accept the CABC’s Corporate Leadership Award,” said Dr. Bourla. “Pfizer and CABC share a legacy of establishing successful collaborations, and of working with others who share our values and our unwavering support of innovation.”

The CABC is honoured to award Pfizer the 2021 Corporate Leadership Award. To watch Dr. Bourla accept the award and view the full State of Relationship livestream, visit the CABC on YouTube.

About the CABC: Established in 1987, the Canadian American Business Council is the leading non-profit, non-partisan, issues-oriented organization dedicated to fostering dialogue between the public and private sectors in Canada and the US. Members are key business leaders and stakeholders from both sides of the border ranging from entrepreneurs to best name brands in the world. Collectively, CABC members employ about two million people and have annual revenues of close to $1.5 trillion. 

Media Relations

CABC

Jasmine Lagundzija, jasmine.lagundzija@crestviewstrategy.com, 519-217-1247

SOURCE Canadian American Business Council

With nearly three decades of operation, the CABC has become the leading non-profit, non-partisan, issues-oriented organization dedicated to fostering dialogue between the public and private sectors. The State of the Relationship has become the council’s marquee celebration, bringing together more than 70 business leaders, policymakers, diplomats and luminaries to provide remarks.

“We are delighted to bring together diverse leaders from both countries at this year’s State of the Relationship,” said Maryscott Greenwood, CEO, CABC. “The events of recent years have demonstrated the resiliency of our sacred relationship. Our partnership extends from boardrooms to borders; it’s an honour to bring together Canadians and Americans to recognize this significant feat.”

The 27^th State of the Relationship will be hosted by Atlanta-based broadcast reporter Christine Sperow and feature a special performance of “Lean on Me” by Canadian performers, Fefe Dobson and Tyler Shaw. The evening will include the presentation of the CABC’s Corporate Leadership Award, which recognizes contributions to sustainability, job creation and remarkable innovation. In 2020, UPS was awarded for its extraordinary service through the pandemic.

Throughout the livestream, viewers will have the opportunity to participate in interactive contests and trivia featuring Canada and U.S. pop culture. With the recent reopening of the Canada-U.S. border, reuniting families and friends, the CABC will also be giving away roundtrip business tickets for any Air Canada flight.

Canadians and Americans are invited to join the CABC on Thursday, November 17 at 8 p.m. E.T. for the State of The Relationship, livestreamed on YouTube.

About the CABC: Established in 1987, the Canadian American Business Council is the leading non-profit, non-partisan, issues-oriented organization dedicated to fostering dialogue between the public and private sectors in Canada and the US. Members are key business leaders and stakeholders from both sides of the border ranging from entrepreneurs to best name brands in the world. Collectively, CABC members employ about two million people and have annual revenues of close to $1.5 trillion. 

Media Relations

CABC

Jasmine Lagundzija, jasmine.lagundzija@crestviewstrategy.com, 519-217-1247

SOURCE Canadian American Business Council

In the post-pandemic recovery, it is imperative to promote the importance of Canada-U.S. economic ties. The Canada-U.S. trade relationship constitutes of nearly USD $1.7 billion in trade per day. Canada is the United States’ largest customer and top trading partner. Moreover, Canadian companies operating in the United States directly employ more than 825,000 Americans. Our trade relationship helps both economies grow stronger to compete globally making the bilateral relationship important to nurture and protect.

Given the magnitude and strategic importance of the Canada-U.S. economic relationship, non-governmental organizations operate in both countries to promote trade and investment complementing the work of each country’s consular and commercial services.

The Canadian American Business Council (CABC) has been an integral organization to promote economic and political ties between Canada and the U.S. since 1987. Today, the CABC is the leading nonprofit, nonpartisan, issues-oriented organization dedicated to fostering the dialogue between the public and private sectors. CABC’s CEO is Maryscott Greenwood and CABC members include Fortune500 companies such as Mastercard, UPS, Pfizer, and Bombardier. The Council’s activities include high-level briefings on relevant issues of concern, assistance with practical trade and policy challenges, relationship-building opportunities, and informative seminars.

“The CABC is delighted to have a mutual membership with the MAPLE Business Council. With both of our organizations advocating for the bilateral ties -both economic and political- it provides the opportunity to strengthen our relationship,” says Maryscott Greenwood CEO of CABC. “The MAPLE Business Council joined the CABC’s 2020 North American Rebound campaign, joining us as champions of a bilateral recovery. We welcome MAPLE Business Council to our membership and are excited to continue our collaboration on issues that are of utmost importance to our special relationship.”

Founded in 2015 at the encouragement of the Consulate General of Canada in Los Angeles, MAPLE Business Council promotes bilateral investment, trade and entrepreneurship between Canada and the U.S. The independent non-profit membership organization connects executives from across sectors through networking events, cross-border delegations, content sharing through digital platforms and strategic partnerships with economic development stakeholders. Based in Orange County, California, the organization has expanded its focus from Southern California to include chapters in British Columbia and New York and growing communities in Toronto and Québec. Members are located throughout Canada and the U.S. and work in over 20 sectors.

“We’ve long respected the work of the CABC to shine a light on the importance of America’s economic and political partnership with Canada,” said Stephen Armstrong, president of MAPLE Business Council and co-founder with Robert Kelle. “This led us to join their North American Rebound campaign in 2020 along with leading organizations in both Canada and the U.S. to reinforce the importance of building our highly integrated economies back better together post-pandemic. We welcome CABC to our membership and look forward to future opportunities to collaborate together.”

In 2020, MAPLE Business Council launched a New York Chapter led by former Purolator International President and veteran supply chain executive, John Costanzo. “I am looking forward to working more closely with Maryscott Greenwood and the Canadian American Business Council as a member organization. Our organizations are closely aligned in the pursuit of greater collaboration between the U.S. and Canada. There is no more strategic or economically important trade and investment relationship as what our two countries have created.”

To learn more about CABC, visit www.cabc.co

To learn more about MAPLE Business Council, visit www.maplecouncil.org

Canadian American Business Council: Established in 1987, the Canadian American Business Council is the leading non-profit, non-partisan, issues-oriented organization dedicated to fostering dialogue between the public and private sectors in Canada and the US. Members are key business leaders and stakeholders from both sides of the border ranging from entrepreneurs to best name brands in the world. Collectively, CABC members employ about two million people and have annual revenues of close to $1.5 trillion. For more information, visit www.cabc.co.

MAPLE Business Council: MAPLE Business Council® is an active membership-based organization of senior executives across over 20 sectors in over 20 markets connecting through in-person and web-based events, commercial delegations, digital knowledge-sharing, cross-border news curation, and strategic partnerships to trade, invest and collaborate between and within Canadian & U.S. markets. For more information, please visit www.maplecouncil.org.

Media Relations

CABC

Jasmine Lagundzija, jasmine.lagundzija@crestviewstrategy.com, 519-217-1247

MAPLE Business Council

info@maplecouncil.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. September 9, 2021 – Today the Canadian American Business Council announced an addition to its distinguished Advisory Board. Former Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell will join the CABC Advisory Board to provide key insights and guidance to the Board of Directors, committees of the Board, and the executive leadership.

Governor Rendell brings 34 years of public service experience, including 24 years as an elected official. Rendell served two terms as Governor of Pennsylvania (2003-2011) and two terms as Mayor of Philadelphia (1992-2000). Governor Rendell has dedicated his career to rebuilding and reinvesting in infrastructure, most notably as co-chair of the organization “Building America’s Future.” His expertise and experience will bring a new perspective to the Advisory Board as it works to strengthen and advance the Canada-US relationship.

“It is our honor to welcome Governor Rendell to the CABC’s Advisory Board,” said Maryscott Greenwood, CEO, CABC. “As we navigate both country’s post-pandemic recoveries, Rendell’s expertise will be invaluable to our Advisory Board as it makes recommendations and provides counsel for a prosperous bilateral recovery.”

“As Governor, I looked to the CABC to provide advice on the bilateral relationship, it is now my pleasure to join its distinguished Advisory Board,” said Rendell. “I look forward to working alongside this renowned group to advocate and advance Canada-U.S. relations.”

Governor Rendell joins the existing members of the Advisory Board, which includes former U.S. and Canadian ambassadors, and provincial, state, and federal leaders.

About the CABC: Established in 1987, the Canadian American Business Council is the leading non-profit, non-partisan, issues-oriented organization dedicated to fostering dialogue between the public and private sectors in Canada and the US. Members are key business leaders and stakeholders from both sides of the border ranging from entrepreneurs to best name brands in the world. Collectively, CABC members employ about two million people and have annual revenues of close to $1.5 trillion. For more information, visit www.cabc.co.

SOURCE Canadian American Business Council

Welcome to our special issue on Canada-US Relations. It’s been said that Americans are our best friends, whether we like it or not, and we are their best friends, whether they know it or not.

We thought this would be a good time to assess the relationship, in both a bilateral and multilateral context, as partners across the border and allies in an evolving world.

Sixty years ago, John F. Kennedy famously declared in his address to Canada’s Parliament: “Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies”—words now immortalized in stone at the entrance to the US Embassy on Sussex Drive in Ottawa.

That was then, but what about now? There’s the Biden presidency to be considered, a decided improvement over his predecessor’s term. There’s the pandemic. There’s climate change. And there’s the challenge of China. 

But while Joe Biden’s Democrats are not isolationists, they share some of the protectionist propensities of the previous administration. Among so-called Progressive Democrats, there’s no shortage of hardliners on sensitive bilateral trade issues, from pipelines for environmental reasons to the old standby of softwood lumber.

The key relationship within The Relationship has always been the standard of excellence in Canada-US relations; how the PM and president of the day get along, and how they succeed in advancing an agenda for bilateral and global issues.

And as the centrepiece in this issue, we present an inside cover package ranking the Best Prime Ministers and Presidents of the Last 100 Years on Canada-US Relations, as selected by a Jury of 50 prominent Canadians and Americans. In a secret ballot they gave us their Top Five picks of the best PM-presidential tandems. 

The number one ranking goes to Brian Mulroney and Ronald Reagan from 1984-89, as well as Mulroney and the first President George Bush from 1989-1993. William Lyon Mackenzie King and Franklin D. Roosevelt ranked a competitive second. They worked together for 10 years from 1935-45, that saw the economic recovery from the Great Depression and the Allied victory of the Second World War led by FDR and Winston Churchill, in which King played a key role, hosting the Quebec summits of 1943 and 1944. 

Former Prime Minister Mulroney sat for an hour-long Q&A with Policy at his Montreal residence on August 6.  

Mulroney shared his thoughts and stories on his relationship with Reagan and Bush, and joint achievements such as the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, the Acid Rain Accord, and the shaping of the post-Cold War world. He also looked ahead to continental and global issues facing PMs and presidents today. 

Our contributors are also concerned about the way ahead for the relationship, and a different post-pandemic paradigm. As Kevin Lynch and Paul Deegan write in their situational roundup: “We are at one of those moments when we need big, bold ideas to re-boot the Canada-US relationship.” Former Canadian ambassador to Washington Michael Kergin is concerned about “Biden’s early revival of a Buy American policy by executive order,” which he notes “is viewed as a not-so-friendly gesture.”

Contributing Writer Sarah Goldfeder, who advised two US ambassadors to Canada, writes that it’s a propitious moment for the Democrats in office to rely on the institutional knowledge of career diplomats in Washington in the conduct of the relationship.

Colin Robertson, a veteran of Canadian diplomatic postings from New York to Los Angeles, describes the inventory of good advice available to governments from “the hidden wiring” of the relationship. Tom d’Aquino is of a similar mind on “strengthening business-to-business ties.”

Senator Pamela Wallin, a former Canadian consul general in New York, brings her perspective on the relationship and our own Lisa Van Dusen writes of a bilateral relationship status update “from siblings to neighbours.”

Canadian Chamber of Commerce executives Perrin Beatty and Mark Agnew have some thoughts on making Canada more relevant “inside the Beltway” of DC, while Canadian American Business Council CEO Maryscott Greenwood sees the relationship at a crossroads after the pandemic. Foreign policy guru Jeremy Kinsman offers his thoughts on re-engaging with the US. 

CN executive Sean Finn presents a timely take on railways and innovation, while Bob Kirke and Elliot Lifson of the Canadian Apparel Federation point out that relationships matter on both sides of the border.

In our Best PMs and Presidents package, historian J.D.M. Stewart looks at the jury rankings framed by leadership, while Don Newman writes of covering PMs and presidents over four decades and Robin Sears looks at PMs who were lacking in bilateral leadership.

We hope you enjoy this special issue. It’s a keeper.