It’s a great honour to have this opportunity to speak to you about Canada’s strong and growing relationship with its friends and partners in the Americas.
I want to extend my appreciation to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce as well as the Mexican Council for Foreign Trade and the Embassy of Canada for their great work in organizing this event, as well as the great work they do through the year in helping to strengthen our trade and investment ties.
I spent many years in business before entering politics. So I really enjoy meeting and speaking with people who help to drive the engines of economic growth in our respective countries.
The success of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s International Convention, which regularly attracts more than 20,000 attendees each year and hundreds of exhibitors from around the world, is a testament to importance of mining in Canada, and the size of Canada’s extractive sector.
I’m delighted with the opportunity to take part in this panel. I want to acknowledge the great job the organizers have done in bringing us all together.
Australia and Canada are already long-standing partners. As Wesley Enoch, your esteemed director of the Sydney Festival recently noted: “Canada echoes Australia and we echo Canada. We are like mirrors in so many ways.”