Author: Chris Thompson
When you saunter over the border to Canada, you may think you’re merely driving to a slightly more polite part of the English-speaking world. But the relationship between Canada and the United States is considerably more fraught than that. Canada sends at least $19 billion in goods to New York State alone, much of which comes in the form of raw materials like minerals, forest products, chemicals, and food. In return, New York sends at least $13 billion of the same sorts of products back north.
No other international relationship is as integral to New York’s economy and society as Canada’s. Without Toronto and Quebec, large parts of New York State and New York City would be crippled, and vice versa. These regions have slowly developed an interdependent relationship, one that results in billions of dollars in industry and trade, yet is strained by the complexities of transportation, energy policy, and international relations.
On October 16, City and State Magazine will host a daylong summit in downtown Buffalo, at the Grand Hyatt Regency, to discuss all of these issues (click here for more info).
Sam Hoyt, the Regional President of the Empire State Development Corporation, has been invited to talk with Lake Carriers’ Association President James Weakley, Bryan Roth from the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, and others about issues related to the international border, as well as the port and railways system that intersects it.
Developer and former gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino will headline a discussion about tourism, energy officials from both sides of the border will discuss how Canada can help New York meet its energy needs cleanly and with a minimum of fuss, and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster, and Canadian Fort Erie Mayor Doug Martin will try to sum up the lucrative yet complicated issues that enrich ourselves and our neighbors.
More than $32 billion worth of goods and services pass through the Canada-New York border each year. It’s time to talk about it.
City and State New York – Canada Summit
8 am, October 16, 2014
Grand Hyatt Regency
2 Fountain Plaza, Buffalo, NY