U.S. ambassador sheds no new light on shaky Canadian, U.S. relations

Jessica Hume, National Bureau Jul 4, 2014

, Last Updated: 6:09 PM ET

OTTAWA The U.S. ambassador to Canada says his main priority is "enhancing the bilateral relationship between our two countries" and observers say Bruce Heyman has his work cut out for him.

Heyman, speaking ahead of a Fourth of July party at his official residence, assured that Canada's relationship with the U.S. is "complex, enduring" and that he is "trying to find a place where we can together find resolutions and move on."

"I want to listen," he said.

But his comments belied the frosty and often frustrated relationship of late, where the feeling north of the border is that the American administration has dropped the ball on issues most important to Canada and Canadians.

"I've never seen things as bad as they are today," economist Jack Mintz told QMI Agency. "In the past it's been us -- there's some anti-American sentiment here -- but lately it's all on them."

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U.S. ambassador sheds no new light on shaky Canadian, U.S. relations