Canadian ambassador to the United States Frank McKenna writes:
Many Canadians here have talked to me about the importance of being connected as a group across the United States and have told me that in their interactions with Americans they would like to have facts at their disposal about what Canada has done in the world, as well as facts about the Canada-U.S. relationship. Many facts will be made available as we start to build our new website, Connect2Canada.com. For instance, did you know…?
- Canada is the United States’ largest source of imported crude oil — more than Saudi Arabia — or that Canada has the world’s second largest proven oil reserves. Much of that oil is located in the Alberta oilsands, an area that contains at least 175 billion barrels of recoverable oil located under an area approximately the size of New York State.
- We have rotated 13,500 troops in the war on terror, over 40,000 troops through the Balkans since 1991, committed $300 million dollars to reconstruction in Iraq, and that we are about to deploy a major Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar, one of the most dangerous regions in Afghanistan.
- Contrary to what some pundits say, none of the September 11, 2001 terrorists entered the United States from Canada.
- Canada-U.S. trade, at more than $1.5 billion US per day, supports over five million jobs in the United States, and two million in Canada, or that our shared Smart Border helps ensure the safe and secure trade of over 200 million border crossings per year.