US Envoy to Canada Says Common Bond Helped Coordinate COVID-19 Response Effectiveness

Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland (second from right), and Acting Ambassador of Canada to the United States of America Kirsten Hillman (right), look on as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with Richard Neal, Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the United States House of Representatives on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Nov. 6, 2019. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

WASHINGTON—The mutual understanding, diplomatic ties and personal relationships that were forged in the fires of the North American trade talks of 2018 have been essential to the success of a shared bilateral effort to manage the COVID-19 crisis, says Canada’s ambassador to the United States.

Kirsten Hillman, who was at the centre of the negotiations that ultimately produced the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement, said the resulting bond between the two countries helped foster a quick and orderly mutual ban on non-essential travel over the shared border.