Why Alberta is diplomacy-first in the trade war
Alberta's Washington envoy says province's position on alcohol gives it an edge
Alberta’s top U.S. diplomat
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diplomat → say → edge
says playing nice is paying off for his province in the Canada-U.S. trade war.
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playing → say → war
Nathan Cooper, Alberta’s senior representative to the United States, told CBC’s West of Centre that compared to provinces that have taken a more aggressive approach, Alberta has come out ahead.
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Alberta → tell → approach
“I think the premier’s diplomacy-first approach has really not only been helpful for me, but certainly helpful for the province,” Cooper said.
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Cooper → think → province
“If we look at the impact of U.S. tariffs on the Alberta economy, we have a disproportionately low impact.”
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we → look → impact
Experts have said while Alberta’s industries are not immune to the impact of the trade dispute, they are not seeing the direct hit other provinces are.
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provinces → say → hit
Despite the trade war, the U.S. continues to increase its imports of Canadian oil.
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U.S. → continue → oil
The comments come as Cooper, the former speaker of the Alberta legislature, spent time in Nashville, Tenn., with Premier Danielle Smith last week.
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Cooper → come → Smith
Cooper said American officials have been “significantly more responsive” to his team than some of his provincial counterparts.
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officials → say → counterparts
Alberta is the only remaining province with no ban or retaliatory levy on U.S. alcohol imports.
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Alberta → remain → imports
The province’s position on that is something the Americans have shown “a real appreciation” for, Cooper said.
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Cooper → show → appreciation
“I believe that that's actually translated into results for the province of Alberta,” he said.
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he → believe → Alberta
The premier said her trip to Music City was a personal one, but she took time to meet with business and tourism leaders while there.
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she → say → leaders
Ahead of her trip, Smith also appeared on U.S. news networks pushing for a return to the bargaining table.
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Smith → appear → table
Following Smith’s trip to Mar-a-Lago last year, she was called out for not being a part of a unified “Team Canada” response.
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she → follow → response
This summer, Premier Doug Ford pushed for Canadian leaders to take a stronger stance, and called for energy exports to be cut off to the U.S.
Smith’s predecessor, Jason Kenney, has said a modest tax on oil exports should be considered to put extra pressure on the president.
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tax → push → president
Smith has rejected both ideas and consistently said doubling down on diplomacy is a better approach.
“I think in this scenario, maybe Premier Smith is seen as a dissenting voice or not quite on script,” Evan Menzies, vice-president of Crestview Strategy said in an interview.
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Menzies → reject → interview
But Menzies, who previously worked as a director of communications for Smith’s party, said things look more favourable for Alberta when you zoom out.
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you → work → Alberta
“If you're to look at what's bearing good fruit, Alberta's efforts seem to be bearing some good fruit.”
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efforts → look → fruit
Smith’s too-friendly-to-resist approach contrasts against Ontario Doug Ford’s aggressive advertising and insult slinging.
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approach → resist → advertising
Cole Hogan, a strategic communications advisor at Alberta Counsel who has worked on Ford and Kenney campaigns, said the divergent tactics make sense considering domestic priorities.
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tactics → work → priorities
“Ford's approach, while it makes a lot of people feel good … it hasn't garnered the same results that Smith's approach has here in Alberta.”
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approach → make → Alberta
“They both have different political goals in doing so — they have different industries to serve.
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they → have → industries
Separation anxiety
All this comes amid a looming election in Alberta on whether to hold a binding referendum on separation — something U.S. officials are increasingly waking up to.
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officials → come → separation
It's been used by representative Andy Harris to trumpet renewed calls for a 51st state and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as a sign of disunity and failed trade talks.
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It → use → disunity
On the ground, Cooper said the referendum isn’t frequently raised in his meetings with U.S. officials.
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referendum → say → officials
“At the end of the day, one of my key jobs is to try to determine the difference between signal and noise and do what I can to get people focused on the big issues that are impacting our province.”
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that → try → province
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