It is my honor to be in Bismarck today to celebrate Canada Day in North Dakota.
Our shared history and geography have led us to an unparalleled friendship based on fundamental values, security and economic partnerships, and tourism and cultural ties.
Canada and the U.S. enjoy the largest bilateral trading relationship in the world, with highly integrated economies. Two-way trade between North Dakota and Canada totals $6.7 billion per year. That’s more than $18 million per day. Nearly 80 percent of what North Dakota sells to the world is purchased by Canadians!
We supply each other with high-quality products. Your state is the largest U.S. producer of canola, a Canadian-developed crop. North Dakota processing plants also import Canadian canola to maximize use of their capacity. This kind of complementary trade means that, working together, we can maintain a competitive advantage in global markets.
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We also share diversified and sophisticated energy connections. Dozens of Canadian companies operate in the Bakken. Canadian infrastructure moves North Dakota resources. Your leading exports to Canada include crude petroleum, fuel oil and natural gas.
Since 2000, the Dakota Gas Great Plains Synfuels Plant near Beulah has been capturing, compressing and sending CO2 via a pipeline to Saskatchewan, where it is used for enhanced oil recovery. It’s one of the most successful, longest-running carbon capture and storage projects in the world, and a win for both the economy and the environment.
Canadians fuel North Dakota’s third-largest industry, tourism, thanks to the 18 crossing points on our shared 310-mile border. More than a million Canadian visits to North Dakota each year add $280 million to your economy.
On that note, I hope that many North Dakotans will visit Canada this year. Come take advantage of your increased purchasing power, and experience the beautiful lakes, cities, museums and parks that my country has to offer.
Our geographic connections mean we work together in many ways. Important watersheds, including the Red River and the Mouse/Souris River, extend across both sides of the border. Our two countries have a long history of cooperation to protect shared waters like these.
Here in the Peace Garden State, we are always reminded of that inspiring international park near Dunseith that, since 1932, has symbolized our cross-border friendship.
North Dakota and Canada are the best kind of neighbors: we are friends, partners and allies. Thank you for welcoming Canada to North Dakota today. Let’s keep a good thing growing!
(Jamshed Merchant serves as Canada’s Consul General in North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota, where he leads a team dedicated to growing two-way business relationships, engaging with decision-makers and citizens on issues of interest to both our countries, and helping Canadians living and traveling in the region. Merchant spent decades in the Canadian prairies as a soil scientist and conservationist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Alberta government, worked at the Treasury Board of Canada, and served as assistant deputy minister of AAFC’s Agri-Environment Services Branch. He will be at the Capitol all day today, with comments before the House and Senate starting at 1 p.m. He can be reached on Twitter @Jamshed_MPLS or via www.minneapolis.gc.ca)