U.S. ambassador hosts red, white and blue bash
Chicago cheesecake from home marks some culinary diplomacy
The manicured gardens of U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman’s house came alight with colour: Red, white and blue flags lined his new Canadian home, hung from trees and marked the concrete pathways circling the grassy foyer in front.
Heyman and wife Vicki hosted Friday night’s July 4 bash at their Rockcliffe Park residence. Like many of their guests, they were adorned in crisp white, an Independence Day tradition.
Guests began trickling in around 4 p.m. amid windy weather — perhaps Chicago-inspired. Organizers estimated 3,000 guests would pass the stone and metal gates before the night was through.
Since Heyman was sworn in this March, he said, a few things have struck him about Canada, namely barbecues, bilingualism and the metric system. But that didn’t stop him from bringing a taste of home to the capital: He ordered cheesecake from hometown Chicago, where he lived for 33 years. He called it culinary diplomacy.
He noted he has 1,300 employees and 121 border crossings between Canada and the U.S. that monitor hundreds of thousands of people passing through. Heyman said his priority is to keep the communication lines open between the two neighbours.
“I think we are working very closely together to enhance the bilateral trade relationship,” he said, adding that energy trade is at an all-time high. He pointed to international work on issues such as Ukraine.
He acknowledged challenges, from both sides, with the Keystone XL pipeline, but he said it’s his job to communicate both sides and diffuse emotional responses.
“This is one of the most important relationships to the U.S.,” Heyman said. “I think Canadians should know that.”