Trips to the U.S. this month from within the non-cabinet ranks of the UCP appear to build on an elbows-down approach to trade with Alberta’s most important market.
The itineraries of MLAs Glenn van Dijken and Angela Pitt also show that not all diplomacy happens in Washington.
Van Dijken just returned from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after attending the spring agricultural task force meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures. Pitt, meanwhile, heads off to Lake Tahoe, Nev., on June 15 for the NCSL Legislative Leaders’ Symposium.
Their stateside presence aims to “build on progress made with lawmakers to protect and deepen ties that bond our economies,” says an Alberta government news release.
Established in 1975 by state legislators and legislative staff, the NCSL brings together lawmakers and other government leaders from all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and the 16 U.S. territories.
Alberta formalized its role in the NCSL by becoming an affiliate member and a member of its International Advisory Council last year. And the province also has strong ties with another U.S. governmental group, the Council of State Governments.
Founded in 1933, the Council of State Governments is the only nonpartisan association serving all three branches of state government and their elected and unelected officials and staff. Four provinces are members of the council’s Midwestern Legislative Conference — Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario are affiliate members, Saskatchewan is a full member.
Van Dijken, the member for Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock, was in Cedar Rapids to “champion Alberta’s role as a reliable partner in establishing U.S. food security,” the news release said.
While meeting with decision-makers on state and federal policy issues, Van Dijken shared best practices in agriculture and agrifood development, and advocated for “Alberta’s unimpeded access to U.S. markets,” says the release
Although not a member of cabinet, van Dijken chairs a cabinet policy committee called Alberta First.
The U.S. is Alberta’s largest trading partner, and Alberta is the second largest provincial exporter to the U.S. after Ontario. The government pegs exports last year to the U.S. at $162.1 billion, accounting for almost 89 per cent per cent of provincial exports.
Although energy projects make up more than 82 per cent of Alberta’s U.S. exports, the stateside marketplace is also critical to agriculture. Ag products worth $9.2 billion when there in 2024, up four per cent from the year before.
Airdrie-East’s Angela Pitt will “reinforce the value of our trade relationship” while in Lake Tahoe. She will “promote the benefits of working together on critical trade corridors, including pipelines, to unleash Alberta’s ability to support the U.S. in its ambitions to become energy dominant,” the release says.
Said Pitt: “I have had many positive conversations with members of the NCSL over the past few months, and I look forward to advancing these discussions further in Nevada."
