Open for Business: A Conversation From Detroit With Canada’s Consul General

In the latest installment of Five Questions, Five Answers, host Birgit Matthiesen is joined by Mr. Colin Bird, Canada’s Consul General in Detroit, Michigan. Consul Bird serves as Canada’s top representative for a large portion of the Great Lakes region. Among his many responsibilities, his job description is clear: to highlight the importance of one of the world’s most dynamic cross-border manufacturing sector. In today’s podcast, they focus on the electric mobility sector — from the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to the launch of the Binational Alternative Fuels Corridor. Birgit and Consul Bird turn to the future, reminding listeners of the tremendous support from Washington, DC, and Ottawa, Canada, for the electric mobility ecosystem. Highlights of the conversation include: Canada’s public and private sector investments to increase the availability of electric vehicle (EV) critical minerals. The importance of cross-border EV manufacturing and corporate partnerships. The upcoming review of the USMCA. Detroit, Michigan’s, announcement of the first Binational Alternative Fuels Corridor.