American Business Council and people automatically clink your glasses. That is excellent. Excellent. Now, i do like to intrude on your sunday mornings, but tonight im going to intrude on your dinner. Its worth it, i hope, because weve got a really dpextra extry moment. These dinners have been going on for decades. But tonight two people who are maybe at the center of maybe the most important issue of our economy, the trade been canada and the United States and the renegotiation of the nafta agreement, some might say the weight of the world, certainly our world on on their shoulders in many, many ways. Obviously Security Issues and weve talked a little bit about the resilience of your friends in new york, but for the first time on stage together, please give a very warm ottawa welcome and we can be very warm, the new ambassador to canada, the honorable kelly craft and her counterpart the honorable David Mcnaughten and theyre joined on stage by the chair of the board. We can get warmer. We can even get warmer. Thats right. We can get warmer. [ applause ] thank you very much for that great introduction. That was wonderful. Ambassador mcnaughten, ambassador craft, thank you so much for joining us. I know theres a lot of things going on between u. S. And canada relations at this point. But what a great opportunity to have you here and to talk about the status of the relationship and the importance of being such good friends across the borders. Ambassador craft, youve been here for a hot minute. You just came in last week. And when i was asked to sort of moderate this conversation, of course i went on google, which is a cabc member company, little plug, to find out what i could about both ambassadors. And i stumbled across this fantastic video that the u. S. Embassy pulled together and i think we can play that here tonight. Kyle, would you roll the video for us, please. Im kelly craft and im the u. S. Ambassador to canada. It is such a privilege and an honor to serve my country, especially to serve in a country that is our neighbor, our friend, our ally. I grew up in glasgow, kentucky. Very small town in South Central kentucky. My father was a veterinarian. We grew up on a farm which is where we had our large animal clinic. My first bike was a pony when i was four. My brother and i would graduate from our pony to our small horse and we would ride all over glasgow. I grew up with lots of animals, cattle, horses, bison, ducks, pigs, chickens. I grew up only thinking dogs had three legs and cat his one eye because my father brought everything in from the animal clinic. When i was in middle school, my grandparents took me on a Cross Country road trip in a winnebago. We went to the canadian side of niagara falls. I remember how that image stayed with me for my entire life, my first introduction to canada. A few years later i had a chance to visit there again to know about the people and culture of canada. One thing youre going to learn about me is i love sports. Joe and i love the toronto raptors. We have several players from kentucky who have played for the raptors the latest being patrick patterson. We had jamal murray who was here from canada and now alexander. My passion is engaging with and supporting our youth. I love to see how young adults develop off the court to make certain that they are giving back and that they are also helping others in a way that they can use their talent off the court to contribute to society and to help others. Thats the biggest delight to me. Thats the win win. The first thing im going to do when i get to ottawa is lace up my Running Shoes and go for a run. I just cant wait to experience the canadian outdoors and to meet as many people as i possibly can. Its such a beautiful country and im very eager to be able to travel hitting the ground running when im there and getting to know the people from coast to coast. Joe and i could never dream of a higher privilege than to serve our country, the United States of america, as ambassador to canada. Working together to ensure economic prosperity, opportunity, and security for our families and our children. Ladies and gentlemen, its my privilege to introduce to you the United States ambassador to canada, ambassador kelly craft. We did a video for you. [ applause ] its a great video. First of all, i really need to up my running game after watching that video. Ambassador mcnaughten, youve been on the job now for almost two years which gives you the title of seasoned and actually, one of the first times we met was at the western governors meeting in montana this past summer. And first of all, white fish, montana. I mean, thats probably one of the most beautiful states in the united gosh. Could spend many, many more days there exploring Glacier National park and everything. But besides talking about our mutual love of canada and the u. S. , you talked about your four daughters. And i thought to myself, gosh, four daughters. I mean, what that right there is the experience a person needs to sort of manage the relationship between two countries right there. But the western governors meeting, i was impressed by how Many Canadian officials were at the meeting talking to the governors and the mayors there. Your government has really been working hard to cultivate relationships with the states. Prime minister trudeau came down to the meeting in rhode island. Youve been really working hard to build these relationships outside of d. C. And outside of the beltway. How is that working so far . Well, before i get into that, i just want to welcome ambassador kraft. We have been in touch frequently over the last several months. And i know i consider my job to be an honor and a privilege. And i know you do. Weve got some important work to do. And im delighted that ive got a friend, an ally, that we can try to work out things that are going to be best for both of our countries. So welcome. And i look forward to working with you. I should also say, i was thinking when evan was talking about his grandmother being an american, and i was thinking about my popappy here. And my grandfather was an american. He grew up in california. And the reason he became canadian was because in the first world war, he was one of 35,000 americans who crossed the border before the United States entered the war to fight with canadians in europe. And so he went overseas with the canadian troops, and met some woman and ended up marrying her. I could never figure out why anyone would move from california to ottawa. But anyway [ laughter ] but so same winters. Yeah, same winters. No, look. Our outreach has been going really well. I find that, you know, first of all, theres already many, many existing relationships between premiers and governors and Business People on both sides of the border. So it hasnt been too much of a struggle to find common ground. And what you find with the governors, and i know this is true with governor bevan and others, they really are close to their businesses. They know what creates jobs. They know that canada is a big customer. And i think the premiers are the same way. I think theyve got a very close relationship with their Business Community, and their communities in general. And they understand how much we are interdependent. And so i think its been a great thing for the federal government to both reach out to not just washington, but, you know, to use our entire network of consequence la consulates throughout the United States to work cooperatively with the Business Community and the provinces. And to just, you know, tap into what has already been is already a great relationship. I just think that, you know, weve kind of taken it for too much for granted. Somebody asked me the other day, is there anything you would do differently than what youre doing at the present moment. And i said, no, i just started three years earlier. Ambassador kraft, so we know youve just started your job just a short week ago. But we know that youve also been coming up for the past few months in getting to know ottawa and getting to know canada. What are you doing to cultivate relationships as an ambassador and to sort of build your network and bring officials to the other . How is that going along for you, and there we go. First of all, i want to thank the canadianamerican Business Council for hosting this event this evening. Thank you so much. Were happy to have you. Its a pleasure to be up on stage with my new friend, ambassador mcnaughton. And i want to introduce the person i love the most in a relationship, which is my husband, who is here somewhere. There he is. Okay. Hes the best first husband any ambassador could ever dream of, so thank you. And, you know, talking about relationships, my first welcome was really ambassador mcnaughton. So i owe this to you for this warm relationship, and what a way to open the door to invite me in. He had me to his home in washington, d. C. , immediately for a very informal gathering. And introduced me to the Prime Minister and his wife, sophie, and jerry and katie and minister freeland and just really set the tone for the way i felt when we arrived six days ago. So we you know, it was just so nice and inviting that you opened up to us in a very informal way, before i presented my credentials. And then the day i presented my credentials, it was just amazing to be able to see the people that i had seen before, and then went along and met with minister freeland shortly thereafter. And just to have that already familiarity. I have to thank you so much for being so kind to us. It was delightful having you. And, you know, i feel as if being from kentucky, you know, bourbon and automobiles are kind of our gift to canada. And we thank you for that. There you go. And, you know, we received the whiskey and the aluminum back, which makes for great fun and a big party, i think, right . And hopefully a few basketball players along the way. But i think its vital and important to know that in kentucky, there is no border. We you know, i know the border is thin. But for us, weve not known a border. Because without canada, you know, its we wouldnt be in such a wonderful situation that were in economically. And a lot of the governors and i feel this way about all of the states, although more than half the states, canada is the number one trade partner. And i think that we need to really reach out and remember that this is more than a trade situation. This is cultural. This is commercial. This is personal. And, you know, while the numbers are huge, 1. 7 billion and 700 billion in investments. We need to talk about real stories and real people. And this peopletopeople connection. Because at the end of the day, you guys are our best friends. And we need to nurture that relationship. [ applause ] and, you know, it just takes nurturing. And i think we need to focus on the positive, and really bring together the best in both of us. And that to me is what i want. And i dont want to look back, like you said i dont want to say, what should i have done. I want to be really proud of what were going to do together to promote without a border. So fantastic. Thank you so much. [ applause ] ambassador mcnaughton, youve had a busy year with the change in government in the United States and with the nafta negotiations. How do you feel is the bilateral relationship today, and maybe you can address this, as well. How do you feel over the past few years moving forward, how this relationship has fared over the past few months . Well, you know, last i think it was last summer, we had a cabin retreat in sudbury. And we didnt know what the result of the election was going to be. And so we were talking about, you know, what we needed to think about, what we needed to do. And came to a consensus that the most important thing was to focus in on the things that we had in common. The things we agreed on. Not let little differences or big differences get in the way of the relationship. And also, with the new administration coming in, regardless of which party it was, we needed to start off by developing really good, solid personal relationships. When there wasnt a crisis. So that when some difficult times came up, you actually knew the people you were sitting across the table from. And so from the outset, like the day after the election, the Prime Minister called the president , said, you know, congratulations, and youre going to have lots of problems around the world. Canada is not going to be one of them. Were going to be your friend. Well always be there for you. And i think that and then from then on, you know, all the ministers got to know their counterparts. There are really Good Relationships that have developed. And, you know, we dont always agree on things. But the reality is that, you know, when you when you can you have so much in common, you can get through the difficult times. I mean, i always say, used to say in my previous life, when you were talking about dealing with government was, you know, get to know people in the government on an oncrisis basis so when there is a crisis you know who they are. Think about talking to them in language they understand. Not just about your agenda, but about their agenda. And thirdly, find third parties who are going to endorse what youre trying to do. And thats why, you know, developing the personal relationships, thinking about talking to the new administration about things we had in common and finding third parties like governors who would endorse what we were trying to achieve i think has been a really important in building a relationship. And ive got to tell you, it always starts at the top. And the Prime Minister and the president , ive been there in several meetings between the two of them. They actually do get along really well. And thats not to say they agree on everything. But they have a degree of Mutual Respect that i think will stand the test of time when we get into some difficult times. Because, look, there are some issues that are going to be tough to deal with. Weve already had some of them. Were going to have more of them. But, you know, 95 of this relationship works extraordinarily well. And i think the personal relationships are really important. Ambassador kraft, you sort of reflected on that, as well. You know, i just want to say that your Prime Minister has absolutely been a rock star, especially in the state of kentucky with governor bevan. And i hear that a lot from our governor, just how pleased he is that he has actually given them individual attention. And i think thats whats really important right now when were trying to build this foundation. Especially with the new administration. And i too agree with you that President Trump and Prime Minister trudeau have a wonderful respect for one another and a great relationship. They do speak frequently and thats important, even in times when you do not agree, you keep that dialogue open. Because in times that you really are in need, you do have that line. And youre not having to start all over. You know, i really want to make certain that just from a state and province standpoint that we engage everyone on a state level and a province level and my team at the embassy has been amazing, already setting forth that platform. And, you know, i just really want to compliment you, because its amazing what you have done to reach out to people that maybe are not in total agreement, but youve got this open dialogue. And i think really at the end of the day, if you dont have that, in a time of crisis, you cant pick up the phone. You dont have that that ground. You know, that grounding. So compliments to you. It sounds like we just saw the soft lumber deal here issues here, am i right . [ laughter ] sorry. Im still his friend. No, this is your remarks tonight in this conversation, you know, as a member of the ca caneianamerican Business Council, these are comfortable words to hear. We are in turbulent times, but puts us at ease to know youre at the helm of running diplomacy between the two countries. I think this is fantastic to hear. Ambassador craft, were so happy to have you. And ambassador mcnaughton. Again, seasoned veteran diplomat here. Weve got to you know, i do want to say one other thing, though. And that is that while clearly in the media and also in our conversations, because of the importance of the trading relationship, it dominates the discussion but one of the things ive come to realize is the number of things that we do together. And not just to our Mutual Benefit but to the benefit of the world. And whether that be in dealing with venezuela or in north korea or iran or ukraine or all over the world, where canadians are taking leadership in latvia for nato troops. And the security relationship between the fbi and rcmp and our military in terms of drug interdiction in the caribbean and also, you know, the criminal you know, people, you know, when theyre trying to illegally move people into our country. The degree of cooperation that goes on day in and day out is really quite remarkable. And its unprecedented anywhere in the world. There are no two countries that share that kind of not just information, but trust. And when you talk to we had an event at the embassy which was called partners in defense. And we had the you know, our chief of Defense Staff and the chairman of the joint chiefs of defense of the United States, and every one of those soldiers you talk to, they talk about serving together in afghanistan or working together to meet a common thread. And when you think about what we face around the world right now, it is tremendously comforting that we have the kind of relationship we do. Because its going to be increasingly important. Weve seen it not just in new york, but in other places in the last little while. And that thread is going to continue. But im confident that we have such a Good Relationship that our citizens are more safe than any other citizens in the world, because of the way we cooperate together. Its a true partnership. It is. Can i compliment minister freeland, because i think she has taken this focus during times that maybe