There’s a certain kind of noise that comes with political tension.

It can rattle the room, hijack the headlines, and, if we’re not careful, cloud the relationships that matter most. But when the subject is tariffs, trade, and cross-border tension, we’d do well to remember that beneath all the policy shifts and rhetorical volleys are people – people who have shared more than supply chains. People who have shared purpose.

Canada and the United States have not just been neighbours defined by geography. We’ve been partners in ambition. Our economies are intertwined, yes, but so are our lives. Families cross the border every day – literally and metaphorically. Ideas are exchanged, businesses are co-built, and progress is a joint effort. That doesn’t go away because things get difficult. If anything, this is when the foundation we’ve built should matter more.

Trade tensions are real. Policy disagreements deserve attention. Let’s not diminish the complexity of these conversations by waving them off as mere noise. They touch livelihoods, shape industries, and sometimes introduce strain. But amidst the economic calculus and media swirl, we must not forget the soul of this relationship – the human connections, the shared stories, the mutual respect. We are more than just trading partners. We’re people who have spent decades building with, for, and beside one another.

The bond between our nations has never been about blind agreement. It has been about shared values: openness, ingenuity, fairness, ambition. We don’t always align, but the magic has always been in how we respond when we don’t. Empathy, perspective, and mutual curiosity have carried us through before. They can carry us now.

I’ve experienced this firsthand – through cross-border business conversations and ventures, in classroom dscussions on both sides of the border, and in collaborative projects where people come together not just to build, but to connect. I see it in the way conversations flow across the border – colleagues exchanging ideas, communities sharing stories, and friendships forming through the simple act of engaging with one another. The border may define our postal codes, but it has rarely defined our spirit. The most powerful work I’ve witnessed often comes not from uniformity, but from collaboration across difference. That’s true in strategy, in policy, in design, and in leadership. It’s especially true in diplomacy between people.

We live in a time where the volume is always turned up. But leadership, in any context, is rarely about volume. It’s about tone. And the tone we set in moments like these matters. Are we acting out of fear, or out of wisdom? Are we speaking to win the moment, or to protect the relationship? Are we reacting, or responding?

It’s easy to get pulled into the drama of headlines. But the work of being good neighbours isn’t done on stages – it’s done in quiet, consistent acts of respect, collaboration, and goodwill. The friendship between our countries is not ornamental. It is practical, historical, and deeply human. And in uncertain times, our deep friendship should not be sidelined – they should be safeguarded.

Because what we’ve built together matters. Not just the trade numbers or the contracts, but the trust. The handshake deals that turned into generational businesses. The student exchange programs that turned into lifelong cross-border friendships. The joint ventures that turned into community-wide impact. And beyond all that, the shared commitment we’ve carried into the world – through peacekeeping, diplomacy, and international cooperation. Together, we’ve stood not only for our own prosperity, but for a global promise of collaboration, responsibility, and leadership.

Those are the real metrics of success. And those are what we risk forgetting if we let today’s challenges obscure yesterday’s progress and tomorrow’s promise.

So yes, let’s wrestle with the hard questions. Let’s engage thoughtfully with the economic realities. Let’s advocate for what we believe in. But let’s not let disagreement rob us of our humanity. Let’s not forget that behind the policies are people – people we’ve built with, leaned on, learned from.

Let’s honour the ties that connect us – not just through words, but through the choices we make, the bridges we keep, and the future we choose to build – together.