While attending a Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) hosted conference focusing on the confluence of international capital and energy markets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the following statement was made by a keynote speaker from Singapore representing long term private and commercial energy investors.

“Doing business in Canada is like a good marriage working together for a common goal while doing business in the United States is like being on a first date, you’re never sure how good it will be or how long it will last.”

North Dakota’s economy, like that of Canada, largely depends on producing and exporting fungible commodities. This statement, along with the underlying perception, was articulated three years prior to the 2016 presidential election.

It is now horrifyingly evident that a prevailing perturbation is being exacerbated by President Trump’s self-inflicted, poorly conceived and naive trade policies with close economic allies and has now reduced our status to that of a bad blind date.