Editorial: The strong U.S.-Canadian relationship so valuable

The relationship between the U.S. and Canada has been critical to the North Country for centuries, and it shows no signs of slowing down.

An indication of the health of that relationship was in full view last week at the Québec-New York Transportation Rendezvous & B2B event at the West Side Ballroom.

Hosted by the North Country Chamber of Commerce’s subsidiary, The North American Center of Excellence for Transportation Equipment (NAmTrans), the event drew 219 participants from all over New York, Quebec and the rest of the U.S. and Canada, and even a few from international companies.

The in-person event, hosted in partnership with Aéro Montréal, Propulsion Québec, FuzeHub, and the Québec Government was an opportunity for manufacturers and companies in both the ground transportation and aerospace industries to meet and connect with potential customers, suppliers and resources.

It seems to have been a success with at least three companies considering locating in Plattsburgh after some side meetings and quiet conversations, we are told.

The transportation and aerospace manufacturing industries are critical to our area and comprise a major segment of our local economy.

As Chamber President Garry Douglas says, we have a transportation and manufacturing presence of a major city, and not a small rural area, which is something to be proud of for sure.

Being so close to Montreal, a major international city is of course a plus, but our region has done a tremendous job to maximizing that advantage.

The local industry has grown from just one transportation and aerospace manufacturer in 1995 to more than 40 now.

Such success has been vital to the region, which saw the closure of Plattsburgh Air Force Base in 1995.

Success like that breeds more success and serves to attract more companies to the area that see the value of setting up shop here.

Creating such a prominent cluster of manufacturing businesses has taken a tremendous effort over the years, which has paid off greatly.

Having a large cluster of companies in the area, not only provides many good-paying jobs, it also provides better protection from the inevitable exit of companies that can happen for a variety of reasons, some of which are beyond our control.

We’ve seen what can happen when a region loses a major employer and there is nothing else to fall back on. This ‘all eggs in one basket approach’ is risky, so we are better served with more businesses in the area rather than relying on one giant.

Of course, developing a strong manufacturing cluster takes years of effort and strong leadership. We are fortunate to have one of the strongest chambers of commerce in the state, if not the nation, and they in turn have been supported by federal, state and local government leaders of both parties.

One in particular deserves some special recognition.

State Assemblyman Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake) has helped tremendously in securing the needed resources to support all of the activities and strategies related to cross-border partnership and to NAmTrans.

The world of transportation and aerospace manufacturing will no doubt face many challenges such as climate change and the continuing aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic as they continue to move forward, but we take comfort in knowing that they will do it together in our nice solid cluster, and our region and world will hopefully be better off in the long run.

We would be remiss if we did not shout Douglas’s popular refrain: “Onward and Upward.”