Ambassador Heyman Says U.S.-Canada Relations Are Complex, But 'Pretty Good'

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By Ian Bailey, The Globe and Mail Mar 24, 2015

U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman says “challenges” are inevitable in the complex Canada-United States relationship, but is playing down suggestions of a chill showing up in his troubled first year as envoy in Canada as reported by The Globe and Mail.

“I would tell you that the relationship is large, complex. We’re integrated at so many levels,” Mr. Heyman said.

“But whenever you have a large relationship, whether it’s countries or families or businesses, there are going to be some challenges that we will have to face along the way. That’s not new between Canada and the U.S.”

He added the relationship is “pretty good; it’s outstanding – and I mean that from my heart.”

The Globe reported this week that Mr. Heyman has had a rocky tenure since arriving in Ottawa last April. He has had only one 15-minute meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and initial meetings with Canadian cabinet ministers were sometimes testy. For months, senior government figures refused to see him at all. At the same time, relations with the United States grew frosty as disagreements over a range of issues, from pipelines to bridges, piled up.

Mr. Heyman was asked directly about this week’s Globe report during an on-stage interview held at a Vancouver breakfast meeting of the Pacific Chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce in Canada attended by business leaders, former provincial cabinet ministers and members of the legislature.

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