Event Recap: Beyond Trade, ‘Diversified’ U.S.-Canada Relationship Remains Strong

Consular Conversations OTP: Canada

Sept. 30, 2025
Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce

While trade has sucked up much of the air when it comes to the U.S.-Canada relationship this year, there’s still ample room for neighborly conversations that drive bilateral ties on a variety of other fronts — especially at the local and state level.

That was the assessment of Canadian Consul General Rosaline Kwan, who didn’t shy away from tackling tariff tensions at a recent Consular Conversations luncheon hosted by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and presented by Miller & Martin PLLC.

But a week before Prime Minister Mark Carney was set to visit Washington for talks on trade and security, Ms. Kwan also sounded a note of optimism that the longstanding partners could find common ground across a range of issues.

“This relationship is diversified in all different kinds of sectors. You can imagine, with such a large relationship, it’s kind of understandable. And a good thing about having a diversified relationship is that hopefully that will also help to provide it with some resilience, although right now we’re going through uncertain times,” Ms. Kwan told Global Atlanta in an interview.

The venue itself underscored the point: The Gwinnett Chamber had just led a trip to Montreal with some 90 civic and business leaders, comparing notes with the Quebec commercial hub on various economic development, education and transit issues. Its Strategic Leadership Visit showed the importance of cross-border dialogue to driving shared prosperity.

Kevin Carmichael, senior vice president of economic development at Partnership Gwinnett, said some of the best ideas in Gwinnett came from previous exchanges, from the Gwinnett School of Mathematics and Technology and the Gwinnett Stripers baseball stadium and even to the collaborative organization where Mr. Carmichael works to drive job creation in Gwinnett.

During the trip, Mr. Carmichael said, a discussion with Stephane Boyer, the 33-year-old mayor of Laval, a suburb of Montreal, stressed the importance of public-private partnerships.

“We’re a leader in that capacity, and that’s also something that we use here in our community,” Mr. Carmichael added, noting that this was the largest leadership visit ever and the second time it had touched down in Canada.

Ms. Kwan, for her part, noted that these types of conversations “keep us moving forward,” especially in times when there’s less cheerleading and more recalibration. Into that same category she added the annual SEUS/Canadian Provinces Alliance conference, which this June went to New Brunswick and was attended by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

Gwinnett also demonstrated the importance of a commercial relationship where trade ends up supporting investment. Home to more than 500 international companies overall, Gwinnett is home to 22 Canadian-owned firms employing more than 1,500 people. About half of those work at Price Industries Inc., which undertook a $5 million expansion in Lawrenceville last May that added 42 jobs, bringing the Manitoba-based firm’s Gwinnett headcount to 800.

Canada is looking to institutionalize further collaborations with state officials, supporting the creation of a budding Canada caucus in the Georgia legislature.

“This is something that we believe will be great for both Georgia and for Canada, and we will continue to build on,” Ms. Kwan said.

See the Gwinnett Chamber’s event summary here