Canada‘s governor general honored former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue; Craig Lesser, former commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development and David Wilkins, the U.S. ambassador to Canada from 2005-09 at a ceremonial dinner at the Consulate General in Atlanta May 24, the first day of the governor general’s eight-day tour of the United States.
As governor general, David Johnston is Canada’s head of state and is appointed by Queen Elizabeth II whom he serves as her representative. He is conducting his first working tour of the South U.S. from May 24-31 at the request of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In addition to Atlanta he is to visit Miami, Fla., Dallas and Planos, Texas; Oklahoma City, Okla.; and Colorado Springs and Denver, Colo.
Mr. Johnston gave each of the honored guests a “visiting medallion for continued and exceptional service in promoting and enhancing the Canada-U.S. relationship.”
Mr. Perdue’s efforts to establish the Southeastern U.S.-Canadian Provinces Alliance with the cooperation of then-Quebec Premier Jean Charest were acknowledged. Now in its 9th year, the alliance is meeting in Nashville, Tenn.
Mr. Perdue led a delegation for the historic chartering of the alliance joining governors from other Southeastern states with premiers from eastern and central Canadian provinces. Mr. Perdue currently serves on the Governors’ Council of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington.
The SEUS-Canada Alliance was modeled after the 31-year SEUS-Japan association and was initiated during a June 2006 meeting among officials from the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the U.S. Embassy in Canada and the Canadian Consulate General for the Southeastern U.S. in Atlanta.
Following a few subsequent meetings, officials from six states (Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee) and seven Canadian provinces (Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Quebec) agreed to meet in Montreal to sign the association’s charter.
Mr. Lesser’s efforts as the state’s chief marketing officer to recruit new business to Georgia and to expand trade and tourism on a global stage also were honored as was his role in launching the alliance. He now provides strategic advice on economic development and government affairs in the private sector and serves on the boards of the World Trade Center (Atlanta), CIFAL, and Georgia Public Broadcasting, and is the chair of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Economic Competitiveness Initiative.
Mr. Wilkins, the former U.S. ambassador to Canada, was cited for his role in dealing with “several politically charged and divisive issues” such as Canada’s role in Afghanistan, NAFTA and the softwood lumber dispute, with successful results.
Louise Blais, Canada’s consul general based in Atlanta, introduced each of the honored guests to the governor general who earlier in the day had met with Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal.
The alliance meetings are held alternatively each year in Canada and the U.S. Since the initial meeting in Montreal, they have taken place as follows:
Prince Edward Island – 2015. The focus was on marine technology/aerospace, food product development, wind and renewable energy, and biotechnology, with an over-arching theme around clustering. More than 600 meetings were held between the 68 businesses that attended. Half of the companies were new to SEUS-CP and the majority of attendees said they plan to attend again in the future.
Raleigh, North Carolina – 2014. The conference featured a business-to-business matchmaking program designed to facilitate new international partnerships. More than 650 individual business meetings were convened to help small-to-mid-size businesses find an export path to Canada.
Halifax, Nova Scotia – 2013. The 2013 conference focused on four themes: life sciences and health technologies; global gateways; marine, defense and security technologies; and cleantech innovation.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – 2012. The conference theme was “Creating Opportunities, Advancing Partnerships.” The targeted industry sectors were advanced manufacturing, innovation, security, and trade and logistics.
Fredericton, New Brunswick – 2011. The conference theme was “Innovate. Connect. Compete.” Conference components included business sessions, a matchmaking program and social networking activities. Targeted industry sectors were advanced manufacturing, information and communication technologies and clean tech.
Biloxi, Mississippi – 2010. The conference theme was “Shared Interests, Shared Opportunities.” Targeted industry sectors for the conference were advanced manufacturing, energy and geospatial technologies with sessions featuring speakers from across the Southeastern United States and Canadian Provinces on research & development, investment and trade opportunities.
St. John’s, Newfoundland – 2009. The 2009 business program highlighted three key business sectors: Energy, Ocean Technology and Advanced Manufacturing/Aerospace and Defense. An overall theme of leadership and best practices in today’s economy influenced the presentations. Speakers were recruited from each of the participating Alliance member states/provinces.
Savannah, Georgia – 2008. The State of Georgia was pleased to host the inaugural SEUS-CP meeting. Six southeastern U.S. states and seven Canadian provinces joined together to promote trade and investment opportunities between the regions. The conference provided a forum for attendees to discuss business opportunities and for the heads of delegations to explore ways to further enhance mutually beneficial strategies to develop growth with partner regions.
Montréal, Québec – 2007. Québec Premier Jean Charest and Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue co-chaired the November 15 and 16, 2007 meeting to officially launch the Southeastern United States – Canadian Provinces Alliance in Montréal. Six southeastern U.S. states and seven Canadian provinces were represented. The first meeting of the Alliance endorsed the purpose of the forum to further develop and strengthen economic ties between the two regions, and resulted in the signing of a joint declaration by the delegation heads.
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