Carlo Dade, Director, International Policy and New North America Initiative University of Calgary School of Public Policy
CALGARY – Alberta is better prepared than much of Canada to deal with a rapidly changing political and economic relationship with the United States, according to a University of Calgary international trade expert.
Carlo Dade, director of International Policy and the New North America Initiative at the university’s School of Public Policy, says the Alberta government has recognized that traditional approaches to dealing with Washington are no longer sufficient.
Dade says the province has taken a proactive approach by funding research into changing American political attitudes, trade policies and the emergence of a new generation of U.S. lawmakers.
“I think the government here saw the changes in the U.S., our failure to understand that IEPA [International Emergency Economic Powers Act] tariffs were coming, despite the fact that we were clearly told these were the Liberation Day tariffs, our failure to understand the generational change in the U.S., that the old way of doing business with the U.S. wouldn’t work,” Dade said.
“It took Ottawa a long time to wake up to that. I think we woke up to it first here.”
Dade points to Premier Danielle Smith’s visit to U.S. President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago as an example of Alberta recognizing the need to understand the administration’s intentions.
He says the visit was criticized in other parts of Canada but provided an important opportunity to assess the changing relationship firsthand.
“The premier going to Mar-a-Lago and meeting Trump was viewed back east as a betrayal. But in fact, it was simply due diligence,” Dade said.
He says Alberta’s response has included funding the New North America Initiative, which conducts research into American political attitudes and develops strategies for dealing with changes in U.S. trade policy.
Dade describes it as the only major Canadian initiative of its kind dedicated to researching and bringing people together to better understand the changing Canada-U.S. relationship.
The research includes polling, focus groups and other work conducted directly in the United States.
“We’re doing deep research in the U.S., polling, focus groups, ideation, to understand that Americans don’t care about bilateral trade, but there are issues they care about where Alberta and Canada can play a role,” he said.
Dade says that means approaching American states and communities through issues that matter to them rather than relying exclusively on the economic benefits of cross-border trade.
He points to Colorado as an example, where concerns about drought and wildfires could provide opportunities for Alberta and Canada to build relationships based on shared challenges.
The research is also examining changes within both major American political parties, which Dade says could have significant implications for Alberta’s energy industry.
He notes that traditional Republicans who supported close trade relations with Canada have increasingly been replaced by a different generation of lawmakers.
Now, he says, similar changes are occurring among Democrats, with more progressive politicians entering Congress and bringing different priorities on energy and environmental policy.
Dade warns that Canadian governments and businesses cannot assume relationships established with previous generations of American politicians will carry over to their replacements.
He says the emergence of Democrats aligned with the Green New Deal could present new challenges for Alberta’s oil and gas industry, even as Republicans continue pursuing protectionist trade policies.
For Alberta, Dade argues the answer is developing a deeper understanding of American political priorities and adapting how the province engages with its largest trading partner.
He says the province’s investment in the New North America Initiative reflects a willingness to move beyond traditional approaches to Canada-U.S. relations.
“This is the type of work that the government of Alberta is funding, thinking differently than what we get out of Ottawa, thinking differently than what we get from the old business councils and the folks who are doing the old way of thinking about the relationship.”
More information about the New North America Initiative and its research is available at newnorthamerica.org.
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