Canadian Embassy
Washington, DC

Dear Canadian Snowbird Association Members,

I hope you were able to celebrate our great country on Canada Day, maybe with a barbecue, or with family and friends! My thanks go to the Canadian Snowbird Association for passing on this message. I am really impressed with the CSA's efforts and the useful information it provides its members.

Many Canadians living in the United States 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 or about the Canada-U.S. relationship. You may be interested to know, for instance, that

• 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.

You are an important group in the United States and have a large influence here by virtue of your presence and your interaction with American friends and acquaintances. I have found that Americans generally have a positive feeling about Canada, but they often do not know much about us. Having a few facts about Canada at the ready is always a good idea, whether you are talking to a neighbour or someone in the grocery story check-out lane.

As I tour around the U.S. I hope to have an opportunity to meet with and hear from many of you.
Your feedback is always welcome.

With best wishes for the summer,
Sincerely,

Frank McKenna
Ambassador