Five United States senators were in Ottawa late last week to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney and underscore the long-standing relationship between the two countries, at the same time stressing the hope that Canadians will continue to visit the U.S. despite the currently fractious relationship between the two countries.
At a press conference at the U.S. embassy, Republican Kevin Cramer dismissed the current tensions between Canada and the U.S. as a temporary setback.
“There’s no way in my view that any temporary bump in the road can become a permanent bump in the road, and I think that was really clear today,” Cramer told reporters.
The delegation also included Democrats Jeanne Shaheen, Tim Kaine, Amy Klobuchar and Peter Welch.
They said they want Canadians to continue to visit the United States ahead of the summer season and stressed how important trade with Canada is for the states they represent.
Klobuchar said the goal was to get the U.S.-Canada relationship “back on track” ahead of summer, adding, “I personally want Canadians to visit Minnesota as well as the rest of the beautiful states in our country.”
Kaine, who represents Virginia, said Canada is his state’s number one trading partner, and many Canadians go to Virginia Beach on vacation. “It’s a very, very important relationship for us in Virginia,” he said.
The senators were also scheduled to meet with the ministers of foreign affairs, national defence and industry, as well as the Business Council of Canada.
Shaheen said the senators hope there will be continued “very positive discussions for ensuring that some of the cracks that have appeared in the relationship in recent months are healed and we move forward together.”
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said in an interview that her meeting with the U.S. senators was “constructive,” noting that most of the senators who visited Ottawa were from border states.
“In that sense, what Canadians have been doing across the country for the last months has been having an impact in the U.S. and so that’s why it was important for us to be able to talk.”
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