Former Canadian ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman warned businesses not to count on Canada-U.S. relations returning to normal. Speaking at the Global Business Forum in Banff, Alta., she said she has been surprised that many business leaders have said in recent weeks they expect tensions to settle eventually.

For decades, Canadians have treated the countries’ close economic integration as a strength, Hillman said. That argument does not resonate with U.S. President Donald Trump and his team, she said, and the outlook likely predates Trump’s entry into politics. Americans respect Canada, Hillman said, but ultimately focus on their own interests.

Hillman said Canadians need to “be able to count on our own resilience” rather than assume close North American trade ties will always remain available. She said better mutual understanding benefits any relationship, and that Canadians are learning more about their neighbour. “It’s great, because it is motivating our country to maybe take on some of those characteristics of self-reliance, self-interest, making decisions that are best and primarily just for ourselves,” Hillman said.

Christopher Sands of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies said he sees “a re-founding of the Canada-U.S. relations” as positive. He described the prospect as “a marriage of equals, or at least self-reliant, confident countries.”

The forum’s theme this year is “thriving in chaos.” The annual conference is in its 27th year and is being held Thursday and Friday at the Banff Springs Hotel in the Rocky Mountains west of Calgary. Sessions are scheduled on global security, strained Canada-U.S. relations, space travel, artificial intelligence and other topics.

Other speakers include Artemis II astronaut Jeremy Hansen and Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy. Executives from Shell Canada, Canadian National Railway Co. and Telus Corp. are also scheduled to offer their perspectives.

Lois Mitchell, a former Alberta lieutenant-governor and forum co-chair, described the unsettled international context in a news release issued before the event. “Rarely have participants seen a world with such a litany of turmoil and ruptures to the international order. Yet many leaders are successfully navigating uncertain waters, currents teaming with undertows and disruption,” she said.

The Canadian Press report was first published Sept. 24, 2026, by Lauren Krugel.

Based on reporting by CTV News Calgary.