Gov. Jared Polis welcomed Canadian Consul General Sylvain Fabi to the Capitol in preparation for the first annual “Colorado Canada Friendship Day,” which will be held on March 15. 

During a press conference, Polis spoke of the historic ties between the two nations, 

“Colorado is opening our arms to celebrate the historic, economic and cultural bilateral friendship with Canada,” said Polis. “We are made stronger by our connection to international partners like Canada, and Colorado will continue to treat Canada as the strong ally they are. The trade relationship and deep ties between our countries are critical to our efforts to lower costs, and I am proud of our work expanding opportunities that strengthen Colorado businesses and opportunities for cultural, technological, and scientific exchange. We stand against tariffs and for even stronger ties built on trust between our two great nations.”

“Canada is a great partner, ally and friend to Colorado and the United States. We value that relationship which is mutually beneficial. Thank you Governor Polis for recognizing the history and strength of our partnership,” said Canadian Consul General Sylvain Fabi. 

The White House has framed the president’s tariff policy as part of a larger drug war and not as an attempt to reshape existing trade relationships with U.S. allies.

Chinese officials, the White House said, have failed to stem the flow of precursor chemicals to known cartels, while the Mexican government has “afforded safe havens for the cartels to engage in the manufacturing and transportation of dangerous narcotics, which collectively have led to the overdose deaths of hundreds of thousands of American victims.”

Trump economic advisor Kevin Hassett said Canada is a “major source” of fentanyl. The tariffs, he told ABC News recently, are “part of a negotiation to get Canada and Mexico to stop shipping fentanyl across our borders.”

The administration has also complained about America’s trade deficit, which Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins described, while visiting Denver recently, as “devastating to our American farmers and ranchers.”

In 2023, Colorado exported $1.8 billion in Colorado goods and produce to Canada, accounting for 18% of Colorado’s trade exports. Nearly a quarter of those exports were from Colorado beef. In the same year, 176,612 visitors traveled from Canada to Colorado. Colorado is also home to 272 Canadian-owned companies, which employ 21,000 Colorado workers.

On Saturday, Polis will fly the Canadian flag and the Colorado State Capitol and the building will be lit red and white in honor of Colorado’s partnership with Canada.