My Turn: O Canada, Arizona stands with thee!

It's about 1,220 miles from Phoenix to Calgary, Alberta.

It's some 2,300 miles from Phoenix to Washington, DC.

In other words, Arizona is closer to Canada than to the nation's capital.

That's true in more ways than just geography. Arizona has deep in its DNA the same rugged identity found in Canada's prairie provinces,  the home of so many of Arizona's snowbirds and full-time residents.

Where people of similar character and values join together in communities, commerce naturally follows.

The story of Arizona-Canada business is one that has resulted in cross-border investment by the flagship companies from both places.  More than 18,000 Arizonans work for Canadian-headquartered companies — and that doesn't even count the small businesses started by Canadians who've resettled here.

Yet, despite all of this, the Arizona-Canada relationship has not reached its full potential.  At a time when Arizona is looking to rebrand itself, boost tourism and unleash the strength of its businesses with international ambition, Canada — with its existing human and commercial connections in the state — should be the first place to look.

Join us for the Arizona Storytellers on 'Good Neighbors'

It starts with people

More than 22,000 homes across the Valley, from Mesa to Surprise, are owned by Canadians. That's good for 94 percent of all foreign-owned real estate.

If it seems obvious that Canadians should be the largest group of foreign homeowners, it's a testament to how integrated they are into those communities. Other markets show quite different demographics. In and around Los Angeles, prospective home buyers compete with Chinese investors.

So while snowbirds may come for the sun and leave with the heat, the many who own homes here make a year-round economic contribution.

Increasingly, we're seeing younger families and mid-career executives relocating to Arizona on a permanent basis. They've done well in business and can get much more home for their dollar in greater Phoenix than in greater Toronto. Their economic impact goes even further than the annual property tax bill.

Viewpoints: How Arizona connects to the world

Many first came as tourists – whose numbers from Canada exceeded 1 million last year for the first time.  Accordingly, Air Canada has expanded its Rouge service from Calgary to Phoenix from winter to year-round, catching up to WestJet which already offers year-round service. And Arizona now solidly competes with Florida for travelers from Toronto and eastern Canada, where we are seeing the main growth in visitor numbers.

Economic factors, including a currently low Canadian dollar, may slow down the rising Canadian tourism, but the hard work of establishing a pipeline of travel is already done. Modest investment in attracting visitors from Canada can keep those planes flying and tourism dollars flowing.

Then there's the climate — the business climate

Ask most Canadians what drew them to Arizona, and they'll tell you that sunny and 70 degrees is hard to resist during a long winter in the Great White North.

But it's the business climate that's especially important to our shared prosperity.

That's what has driven companies like Alberta-based J.V. Driver, a pipeline and steel fabricator, to consolidate its entire U.S. operation and more than double its footprint in Phoenix. Quebec's Leclerc Foods bought a $50 million facility here because of the growth potential and strategic location for reaching markets in the Southwest and Latin America.

Phoenix area attracting more Canadian residents, businesses

Arizona companies — U-Haul, Petsmart and Taser among the 150 from across the state — have realized the benefits of expansion into Canada, tapping into new markets which sustain growth at home. With Arizona working towards becoming a tech-based economy, it will find a natural partner in Canada’s highly educated workforce and world-class tech sectors clustered around Waterloo, Ontario; Montreal and Vancouver.

Room to grow exports north

What's surprising, though, is that in exports, where Arizona punches above its weight nationally,  the state has not made the most of its connection to Canada.  Arizona ranks only 28th in the total value of Canadian-bound exports.

Gov. Doug Ducey recognizes how important international competitiveness is to the state's economic health, and he has wisely put both Mexico and Canada at the top of his priority list. Here, again, the existing infrastructure between our two countries should make reaping the benefits of closer cooperation low-hanging fruit.

Great Canadian Picnic celebrates our northern neighbors

Arizona, the border state

With all the movement of goods and people between us, the relationship between Arizona and Canada is very much like the one Canada has with the states of the northern U.S.  Arizona is a border state — and it feels like its northern border is with Canada.  We take the security of that border seriously.

Canada and the U.S. have a long history of law enforcement cooperation on the border, serving shoulder to shoulder on the ground (and on each other's ships patrolling our shared waterways), and sharing intelligence to respond to threats and prevent criminal activity. No terrorists have been successful in attacking the U.S. by coming across the northern border.

Why should this matter to Arizona?  To start with, a threat to one of our countries is a threat to us both, particularly where those flows of goods and people are high. But also, in a world where we continually seek to facilitate international trade, how we police the border is critical to the timely and cost-effective movement of cargo. It's the foundation of our ability to remain connected to each other, so a safe and high-functioning border is a top priority for us.

Arizona and Canada are bound together like few other places could be. Canadians are firmly part of the community here. We are employers and neighbors, CEOs and small business owners, students and retirees. The result of the special bond between us is that Arizona and Canada depend on each other for our prosperity. We have much to be proud of and still more we can do together.

Let's keep a good thing growing.

James Villeneuve is the consul general of Canada based in Los Angeles and is Canada's senior representative in southern California, Arizona and Nevada.