Noon, July 16, 2012 FORMER CANADIAN DIPLOMAT RECOGNIZED FOR PROMOTING REGIONAL U.S.-CANADA COLLABORATION
The award takes its name from the Pig War, also called the Potato War, a confrontation in the San Juan Islands in 1859 between America and the British Empire over boundaries. The incident was triggered after an American farmer shot a pig that was eating his potato crop. The pig belonged to an employee of the Canadian-owned Hudson’s Bay Company and was the only casualty of the otherwise bloodless-conflict. For more information visit the National Parks website.
A former Canadian diplomat, Robertson is Senior Strategic Advisor for McKenna, Long and Aldridge LLP working with the Canadian Council of Chief Executives. He is Vice President and Senior Research Fellow at the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute, an Honorary Captain (Royal Canadian Navy) assigned to the Strategic Communications Directorate. Living in Ottawa, Robertson writes and speaks on international affairs and is a commentator on CTV, CBC, CPAC and SUN-TV and a contributor to the Globe and Mail, Ottawa Citizen, ipolitics and a contributing writer to Policy Options.
Last year’s Hot Potato Award winner was Don Alper, Director of the Center for Canadian-American Studies and Beyond Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University.