Fort Erie, Buffalo mayors renew Peace Bridge pledge

Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop renewed a cross-border friendship pledge with Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan on Canada Day.

The two mayors traded gifts Wednesday at the border line on the Peace Bridge, recommitting both communities to working together three days before the United States reaches its 250th birthday.

In a video posted to the Town of Fort Erie Facebook page, Ryan carried a gift stitched by Mumu, an artist from Burma who works with Stitch Buffalo, a collective on Buffalo’s west side built mostly by artisans who arrived in the United States as refugees.

The piece centres on a trillium, Ontario’s official flower, and Redekop named it on sight.

“Buffalo, we love Southern Ontario,” Ryan said in the video. “We know where to get the best Chinese food–our economies and our culture (are) so intertwined.”

Redekop returned the gesture with a package of Canadian goods he described as items you cannot buy in the United States, or items that “aren’t the same unless they come from Canada” such as a bottle of maple syrup. He pointed out that the admiration runs both ways across the river.

“We sing your national anthem. We know where all the hot spots are for food, mostly for sports though,” said Redekop.

In a post after the ceremony, Ryan called the renewed Friendship Pledge a reminder that the two communities stand stronger when they work together. The Town of Fort Erie thanked Ryan, the City of Buffalo and the Buffalo and Fort Erie Peace Bridge Authority, which operates the crossing, for staging the exchange.

Redekop closed the meeting with a hope for another 250 years of friendship.

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