I will say very clearly that my reception as the representative of Canada has been, without exception, incredibly warm. That started with the presentation of my credentials on February 17 to the President of the United States and to Secretary Rubio.
Americans understand the importance of the alliance and economic relationship with Canada. Do they wake up and think about us every day the way that we wake up and think about them every day? No, that's not the case, and we have to continually remind them of the importance of the economic relationship, the personal ties and the defence alignment we have.
Every meeting I have had has been respectful, open and receptive, and I have to say I wasn't necessarily expecting that.
I think at times we have to look below the bluster the same as we do here in Canada—politics, I assume, is politics—and get down to business. My sense, based on my reasonably large sample in the first couple of months, is that people in the United States also want to get down to business not just on trade but on all the aspects of the complex relationship between our two countries.