WASHINGTON — Gary Doer has met hundreds of politicians and lobbyists in the U.S. capital in his first year as Canadian ambassador, educating the most powerful people in one of the most powerful nations on Earth about the importance of the Canada-U.S relationship.
And yet who among them has impressed him the most?
Michelle Obama, said Doer, still looking a little star-struck at the memory.
“She’s very, very, obviously intelligent and has a very, very charming presence,” Doer said in a recent interview.
“I saw her speak at the governor’s meeting on nutrition and health, and I didn’t go out and have a hamburger after that speech; it was very effective.”
Enjoying a stunning view of the Capitol building recently from the top floor of the Canadian Embassy, the former Manitoba premier reflected on a year that has had no shortage of thrills, included meeting Obama’s less popular spouse, Barack — the president of the United States.
But there have also been a series of headaches as U.S. lawmakers continue to employ protectionist legislation in their efforts to pull America out of the worst recession since the Great Depression. As well, Doer’s been dealing with opposition to Alberta’s oilsands from environmentally conscious Democrats.
He’s also overseen three new faces taking over top spots at the embassy, located in a coveted locale on Pennsylvania Avenue where no other foreign embassies can be found.
“When people say: ’You’ve left politics,’ after stepping down as premier, I say: ’Are you kidding me?’ There’s 435 of them down the street, and 30,000 lobbyists in this town,” he says with a rueful laugh.
“The over-used term is it’s been the best of times and the worst of times ... it was a good year, public to public, Canadians and Americans are friends and neighbours, but there were obviously a lot of issues that I had to deal with. But I knew that coming in.”
On the positive side, he noted, the Winter Olympics in Vancouver deepened America’s affection for Canada, while the stability of the Canadian financial system and the pace of its economic recovery is wowing U.S. officials.
But Doer’s workload has only increased with the congressional mid-term elections two weeks away. Just this week, he wrote a letter to a Nevada Tea Party candidate in what’s seemingly a rite of passage for every Canadian ambassador who’s had the job since Sept. 11, 2001.
The 9-11 terrorists, Doer reminded Sharron Angle, who’s attempting to unseat top Democrat Harry Reid, did not enter the United States through Canada. Angle recently said they did, calling the Canada-U.S. boundary “the most porous border.”
“I can assure you that Canada takes border security very seriously and trust you will see fit to set the record straight,” Doer wrote.
Last month, he penned another sternly worded missive, this one to Reid, the Senate majority leader, and Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives, warning them against passing another piece of protectionist legislation aimed at China but potentially harmful to Canada. The Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act was tabled by vulnerable Democrats in working-class states who are hoping to hold onto their jobs.
“We’ve got to assert and every time we assert we get told: ’Oh, it’s not Canada,”’ Doer said.
“We have to remind them that they’ve got a bad aim in terms of passing general legislation and its impact on their own jobs ... you have to point out that it’s not in their best interest to do it.”
By all accounts, Doer is dazzling D.C. with his charm and his work ethic.
Republican and Democratic legislators alike are said to be impressed with him, as are those in the U.S. business community.
“Ambassador Doer and his team have done an outstanding job building bridges to strengthen the North American economy,” said John Murphy, vice president of international affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“I seem to find myself in meetings with him where everyone has great stories to tell. There’s always lots of talk about hockey and the ambassador always has something insightful to say on that front as well. He’s really been a very effective diplomat on many levels.”
Canada-U.S. relations expert Chris Sands said he agrees.
“He’s doing a good job, he’s working hard,” said Sands, of the Hudson Institute think-tank. “You see him around a lot, he’s out and about, meeting with people on the Hill, and he’s really impressing people.”
The Canada-U.S. relationship could have been tense under Stephen Harper’s Conservatives, Sands pointed out, as Canada’s economy recovers much faster and trade irritants continue to erupt between the two countries.
“I would not have predicted that Harper would have managed to get along so well in Obama’s Washington,” he said.
“There is so much ground for tension and yet Canada isn’t on the hit list, NAFTA is safe, Canada hasn’t been slammed. I would have expected some friction, some sparks, and I have to give credit for that to Doer because I think he’s advising Harper well on how to manage the relationship.”
Jayson Myers, president of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, was equally complimentary.
“Ambassador Doer arrived in Washington during one of America’s most turbulent times,” Myers said. “That being said, the ambassador and his excellent team have shown leadership and broad accessibility .... Our interests are well-understood and in very good hands.”
Sands predicted, however, that Doer’s job is about to get a whole lot more intense in the months to come.
“There’s going to be a new Congress, and some change in personnel in Obama’s cabinet,” he said.
“He’ll need to establish new relationships and figure out how to negotiate a new Congress. He’s going to be so busy in his second year that he’ll look back at this one as the good year, the peaceful year. Thankfully he’s got that happy warrior quality going, and he’s a very likeable guy.”
Doer, for his part, doesn’t want to speculate on what might happen on Nov. 2, pointing out that regardless of whether the Democrats or Republicans control Congress, Obama is still president.
What he’s keen to discuss, however, are the “frozen facts” — a catchphrase he proudly took credit for coining — that accompany many of the debates in the U.S. about Canadian energy sources, especially the oilsands.
“Part of my job is to say: ’We’re all in this together; clean air and clean water, we’re all in favour of. But don’t be holier than thou, we’ve all got work to do on either side of the border,”’ he said.
That includes correcting what he describes as misinformation in the U.S. capital about the carbon emissions levels of the oilsands.
“My job is to make sure that when the economists put out a statement saying that the emissions are 80 per cent greater than conventional oil, and that’s 10 years out of date, we correct it,” he said.
“That’s our job. Be agile. Don’t be frozen. We like ice for our hockey, we like ice for our drinks, but we don’t like frozen facts.”