One of my biggest priorities in office is to ensure that Arizona is prepared to compete in the 21^st century economy. This effort has many components, but one of the most important is building the international ties that will let Arizona thrive in a global economy.

Last week, I became the first sitting Arizona governor to visit Canada on a trade mission – a mission that comes at a critical time, when the ties between our state and Canada and its provinces only look to grow. Canada is Arizona’s number-two international trading partner, and we enjoy more than $2 billion a year in bilateral trade. Every year, Canadian visitors pump hundreds of millions of dollars into the Arizona economy. It is these kinds of international links that will lead to future prosperity in a global economy.

One of the highlights of my trip was a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in his office at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The Prime Minister and I had a wide-ranging discussion that included talk of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and Arizona’s plan for a “3-in-1” ID – which, among other things, would verify legal status and help Arizonans travel more easily to Canada.

The next morning, I had the privilege of opening the markets at the Toronto Stock Exchange, Canada’s largest stock market. I had the opportunity to meet with Canadian business leaders at a market where several companies with significant Arizona operations are traded – a great demonstration of Arizona’s growing global reach.

During my trip, I had the opportunity to talk to many more government, business and non-profit leaders about forming partnerships between Arizona and Canada in the innovation economy. I met with Canada’s minister of international trade, and saw first-hand the huge efforts that the province of Ontario is putting in to fostering research, development and innovation. On the trip, I was able to discuss several particular partnerships – including cooperation between entities in Arizona, Mexico and Canada in building border security technologies.

In tomorrow’s global economy, international partnerships will be a major key to competitiveness. Working with international partners, Arizona will be able to offer more than it will alone.

Janet Napolitano
Governor