EOWC Call for Strengthening United States – Canada Partnership to Keep Our Economies Thriving
January 17, 2025
New York Association of Counties (NYSAC)
515 Broadway, Suite 402 Albany,
NY, USA
12207
President: Benjamin Boykin II,
Email: Info@nysac.org
Re: Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus Call for Strengthening United States – Canada Partnership to Keep Our Economies Thriving
Dear Hon. President Boykin,
I am reaching out to you as the Chair of the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC). Our EOWC Board of Directors is comprised of the 13 counties and single-tier municipal governments across Eastern Ontario, Canada. We represent the geographical area between the Cities of Toronto and Ottawa, spanning nearly 32,000 square miles. In total, we represent 103 municipalities, many of which border (by land or water) your counties, towns and regions.
Ontario’s Premier, the Honourable Doug Ford, has been developing ‘Fortress Am-Can’, a renewed strategic alliance between Canada and the United States that is a beacon of stability, security and long-term prosperity. This plan will strengthen our economic partnerships on both sides of the border. Businesses in all of our communities partner to create prosperity and good paying jobs. We must work together to ensure any action from the new United States President-elect protects our shared economic interests.
As you know, throughout North America, we face significant challenges including housing affordability across all types of housing and communities, our needs to maintain, repair and grow our public infrastructure assets and address infrastructure funding deficits. The EOWC is committed to partner together with the Canadian Government and Ontario Government to strengthen our region given the social, economic and political challenges facing us ahead. We extend our allyship and call for joint advocacy together with the New York Association of Counties to continue the great partnership between the United States and Canada.
The work of building a more inclusive and prosperous economy for both the United States and Canada has never been more urgent – or more important. Jobs depend on it, affordability depends on it, and overall the EOWC believes we are stronger working together. At the same time, we are both on the cusp of substantial political change, making our shared mission even more complex and vital to pursue.
The United States and Canadian border is the world’s longest undefended border. Our partnerships and trade have spanned centuries, and we have all benefited from our unwavering dedication to ensuring our longstanding relationship. Our associations members are responsible for billions of dollars of goods that move across our borders daily, supporting both of our economies.
As stated in your mission, your association, very similar to ours, is the voice of county leaders to local, state and federal officials. We embrace the same ideology that a unified voice is more effective and has more impact.
As Chair of the EOWC, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to cultivate an even deeper relationship and understanding of your challenges and opportunities and how we can work together towards the betterment of our communities.
Sincerely,
Bonnie Clark
Chair, 2025
Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus
info@eowc.org
www.eowc.org
CC:
The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau
Prime Minister of Canada
PM@pm.gc.ca / Justin.Trudeau@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc
Federal Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs
Minister-ministre@fin.gc.ca
The Honourable Melanie Joly
Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs
Melanie.joly@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Mary Ng
Federal Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development
Mary.ng@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Doug Ford
Premier of Ontario
Premier@ontario.ca
The Honourable Minister Bethlenfalvy
Ontario Minister of Finance
Minister.fin@ontario.ca
The Honourable Victor Fedeli
Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
MEDJCT.Minister@ontario.ca
The Honourable Paul Calandra
Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs
Minister.mah@ontario.ca
Rebecca Bligh
President, Federation of Canadian Municipalities
President@fcm.ca
Robin Jones
President, Association of Municipalities of Ontario
Amopresident@amo.on.ca
Steve Ferguson
Vice-Chair, 2025, Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus
info@eowc.org
Meredith Staveley-Watson
Director of Government Relations and Policy, Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus
Meredith.staveley-watson@eowc.org
