Good Neighbors. Better Together.

A Labor Day Salute to Canada and the United States

On this Labor Day, I find myself thinking not only about work, but about neighbors.

Canada and the United States fly different flags. We have different histories, governments, cultures and national identities. We will not always agree—and good neighbors don't have to.

But good neighbors remember what they share.

Our two countries have been shaped by generations of people who worked: farmers and factory workers, teachers and nurses, builders and bankers, truck drivers and tradespeople, scientists and small-business owners, caregivers and public servants. People who got up in the morning, did what needed to be done, raised families, built communities and handed something forward to the next generation.

Because countries don't really build countries.

People do.

And our people have been building alongside one another for generations.

We share a continent, an extraordinarily important economic relationship, natural resources, waterways, infrastructure, security interests and countless personal and family connections. What happens on one side of the border rarely stays entirely on that side.

That doesn't mean either nation should abandon its own interests. Friendship does not require surrender, and cooperation does not require sameness.

Good neighbors can disagree.

They can negotiate.

They can set boundaries.

They can even get irritated with each other from time to time.

But they don't forget that tomorrow morning, they will still be neighbors.

Perhaps there is a lesson in that for a world increasingly tempted to turn every disagreement into a battle and every negotiation into a contest requiring a winner and a loser.

Leadership can protect national interests without creating unnecessary enemies. Trade can be negotiated without contempt. Natural resources can be developed responsibly without treating either people or the Earth as merely something to extract from. Prosperity does not have to depend upon someone else's failure.

There is room for everyone to win.

So my Labor Day prayer is simple. May the people of Canada and the United States prosper. May our workers be respected and fairly valued for what they contribute. May our leaders have the wisdom to negotiate firmly when necessary, cooperate whenever possible, and remember the human beings affected by the decisions they make. And may both countries continue learning something that applies far beyond our shared border:

Cooperation is not weakness.

Different flags. Shared values.

Good neighbors don't need to become the same.

They simply need to remember how to be good neighbors.

Good Neighbors. Better Together. 🇨🇦❤️🇺🇸