David Jacobson believes Canada is more like the United States than any other country in the world 鈥� but not without some important differences.
鈥淭here are probably no two countries in the world as alike as Canada and the United States, but that doesn鈥檛 mean they鈥檙e the same,鈥� said Jacobson, the United States鈥� ambassador to Canada, on his recent visit to campus. He said those differences, owing a lot to historical experience, are 鈥渟mall but subtle鈥� and that learning them has been one of the more rewarding parts of his job for the past four years.
Jacobson, who is winding down his time as ambassador 鈥� reports are that a successor will be announced shortly 鈥� came to campus on the invitation of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in late March to meet with students and discuss the Canada-U.S. relationship.
He shared what he identified as the Obama administration鈥檚 four priorities for the relationship: trade, the environment and energy, border security, and supporting shared values like democracy. From the $1.2 billion trade between the nations, to discussing border movement and travel, Jacobson鈥檚 talk was both conversational and substantial, offering insights into the administration鈥檚 take on a number of topics students were keen to learn more about.
On border security, for example, he discussed the need for a more efficient, effective system of checks and balances. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to do more of the smart stuff that works and less of the dumb stuff that doesn鈥檛,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e need to spend more time looking for bad guys and less time looking at my grandmother鈥檚 feet.鈥�
Answering students' questions
Students had a number of questions about topics like the administration鈥檚 inability to close Guantanamo prison 鈥� 鈥渁 disappointment鈥� for them, said Jacobson 鈥� as well as the debt ceiling crisis and the Keystone pipeline. On the latter, Jacobson explained how the administration, like Canada, was 鈥渢rying to strike the balance between jobs and economic growth and the environment.鈥� He did acknowledge that, when it comes to environmental topics, the U.S. 鈥渨ill do better鈥� than it has in the past.
Jacobson urged students to take an active role in the world around them and to take advantage of opportunities as they come. He noted that while lots of people got to know Barack Obama during his time in Chicago, not all of them ended up in his shoes. It was through his hard work and commitment that he was able to end up with what he called 鈥渙ne of the very best jobs in the US government.鈥� (He said it鈥檚 been 鈥渁n opportunity to do things that really matter to people in both countries.鈥�)
鈥淭he most important thing you can do to make sure your future will be successful is to take advantage of opportunities as they come to you,鈥� he said. 鈥淧eople who are successful know good luck with they come to it and then take advantage of it.鈥�