“Canada Did Not Choose This Fight—And Americans Are Not Our Enemy”

“Canada has what the world wants. And we will not allow any nation to determine our future.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s decision to suspend trade negotiations with the United States at midnight last night marks a pivotal moment for Canada. See and hear his explanation. The majority of Canadians agree, even though we will certainly have a rougher road ahead.

This is a deeply sad and disappointing moment. Over many decades, I have worked in genuine partnership with innumerable American career and workforce development champions. Together, we shared ideas, built programs and helped people imagine better futures. Many of those remarkable colleagues became lifelong friends.

So I want to say something directly to the thousands of Americans in my LinkedIn network:

Canada’s disagreement is not with you.

Canadians did not choose this trade war. Nor do we want an emotional or cultural war with our closest neighbors and friends. We will continue to value our friendships, professional partnerships and family relationships across the border. Under different circumstance Canadians would still like to vacation in the United States, welcome American visitors to Canada, enjoy American wine, beer or bourbon, and celebrate the countless things our two peoples have created and shared. Our histories, economies, communities and families are too deeply connected to allow the decisions of one administration to make enemies of two peoples.

But friendship does not require submission. The United States administration imposed sweeping new tariffs that override protections Canadians believed were secured through the trade agreement President Trump signed during his first term and called “the best trade deal ever.” Canada cannot allow another country, however close a friend, to determine our economic future or undermine our sovereignty. This is not the response Canada wanted. It is the response circumstances now require.

This unfortunate turn of events also makes the central message of The Missing Bridge more urgent than ever. Canada has extraordinary natural resources, strategic industries and world-class institutions. But our greatest natural resource is the imagination, character and potential of our people. Too much of that potential remains undiscovered, underdeveloped or underused.

If Canada must become more economically resilient, diversify its trading relationships and strengthen its capacity to build more of what we need at home, we will require much more than ports, railways, energy corridors, factories and housing. We will need people who can imagine, design, build, operate, maintain and continuously improve them. Yet too many young people leave school without sufficient exposure to the changing world of work, meaningful conversations with people in diverse occupations, or opportunities to discover where their abilities and interests could contribute. Employers struggle to find people while capable Canadians struggle to find where they fit.

That is the missing bridge between education and meaningful work.

Career development should therefore be recognized as essential public infrastructure, and as a central nation-building project within Build Canada Strong. It can help Canadians:

• see emerging possibilities in their communities and across the country

• understand how their abilities connect with Canada’s evolving needs

• navigate education, training, work and career transitions

• move into sectors where their contributions are urgently required

• develop the confidence and agency to adapt throughout their lives

Canada has built collaborative systems like this before. Federal, provincial and territorial governments worked with educators, employers and career development leaders to create CHOICES, Canada Prospects, The Real Game Series, Canada WorkinfoNET and the Blueprint for Life/Work Designs. American national and state leaders were valued partners in several of these accomplishments. They did not diminish Canada’s independence. They demonstrated what Canadians and Americans can achieve when we meet as equals, treat one another with respect and work toward shared goals.

We do not need another collection of temporary, disconnected programs. We need renewed national stewardship: governments convening and aligning partners, communities adapting solutions to local realities, and all participants sustaining and improving the infrastructure across political cycles. Build Canada Strong must be about more than what we build. It must also be about whether every Canadian can see where they might contribute, and find a pathway to get there.

We can stand up for Canada without turning our backs on Americans. We can defend our sovereignty without surrendering our friendships. And we can use this difficult moment to build a stronger, more resilient and more self-confident nation.

At this defining moment, Canada cannot afford to leave too much of its greatest resource untapped.