“When the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, it set a standard for human freedom that has never been surpassed.

“True, the vision behind the Declaration’s soaring rhetoric has not yet been fully achieved – in the United States or any other country inspired by its example. But the U.S., in striving to live up to the ideals of its birth, has become a champion of democracy and progress, creating the conditions for freedom to flourish around the world. Generations of Americans have fought and died for their nation’s founding values. And the world those values shaped is infinitely better off because of them.

“Alberta has no closer ally than the United States. We have stood together in war and peace, through some of the bleakest periods in history, creating an everlasting bond. I wish our American friends a wonderful Fourth of July filled with patriotic pride and all the blessings of liberty.”