Canada’s Consul General Roy Norton visited Ohio University to discuss the United States’ relationship with its northern neighbor.
Norton’s lecture, “The World’s Largest Trading Relationship: How the United States and Canada Built It – and Where It’s Headed,” to a room of about 40 in Baker University Center’s Multicultural Center.
Norton’s presentation highlighted how the economies of Ohio and Canada depend on each other.
Norton, who has traveled to many places in Ohio, was in Athens for the first time Thursday because he hopes the community can be used as a gateway to the rest of the area.
“I wanted to make not only the Ohio University community aware of the relationship, but all of Southeastern Ohio as well,” Norton said.
Canada is the biggest consumer of American goods and he said it would “defy a certain measure of logic” for America and Canada to not have a long-standing trade relationship.
However, the relations between the two have not always been so unified. There has been several times throughout history, Norton pointed out, that the leaders of the U.S. and Canada didn’t agree on much.
“Consul General Norton’s visit is significant to the university and will be relevant to students, faculty, staff and the community seeking to understand the far reaching historical and economic impact of this country’s largest trading partner,” said Lorna Jean Edmonds, vice provost for global affairs, in a press release.
Canada is responsible for nearly 300,000 jobs in Ohio alone, Norton said.
Although America is widely known as a world superpower, Norton said that both countries depend on one another, as Canada creates millions of jobs within the U.S.
However, the future is only looking up for both America and Ohio in terms of trading with Canada.
He hopes that the relationship will be further solidified thanks to the upward-trending economies of both the countries.
“Because (the relationship) is always vulnerable to setbacks, it needs constant tending,” Norton said.
wg868213@ohiou.edu
