Canada and Minnesota have a special connection. We share a border. Our residents visit each other. We share a tradition of cold weather.
The two also share an attitude of openness and inclusion, a place of welcome for people who arrive from other places, said Canada’s immigration minister in a recent visit to Minnesota.
Ahmed Hussen, Canada’s minister of immigration, refugees, and citizenship, emphasized those connections when he spoke to a capacity crowd at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs December 8.
Hussen himself represents another connection to Minnesota—he was born in Somalia and moved to Canada as a teenager. He’s a popular figure within Minnesota’s Somali community, which is one of the largest diasporas outside of Somalia.
Hussen was the first Somali-Canadian to be elected to Canada’s Parliament, and he was named to his current post earlier this year.
