What Fort Worth Leaders Learned in Canada
International learning often begins with a statistic that changes the scale of what we think we understand.
During the Fort Worth Forum Seminar trip to Canada, we learned that $2.4 billion in goods cross the U.S.-Canada border every day. It is the longest international border in the world, and the economic relationship touches communities, businesses, and workers far beyond the border itself. We also learned that 50 percent of all foreign direct investment in Canada comes from the United States.
Those numbers are impressive, but the larger lesson was about interdependence. Neighboring countries can feel familiar enough that we stop asking questions about them. Yet proximity does not automatically create understanding. Leaders still need to listen, learn, and see how decisions on one side of a border affect people on the other.
Our evening with Baxter Hunt, Consul General of the United States in Toronto, gave Fort Worth leaders a closer look at the relationship between our two countries. Experiences like this remind us that civic leadership benefits from looking outward. Another city or country may be solving a familiar problem in a different way, and the willingness to study that approach can lead to better decisions at home.
That is one reason leadership trips matter. The goal is not to copy another community. It is to return with sharper questions, broader context, and relationships that make future collaboration possible.
Of course, no conversation about Canada would be complete without mentioning Drake. But beyond the music and familiar cultural references is one of the United States’ most consequential partnerships. Understanding it is part of understanding our own economy, security, and future.
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