Alberta officials need to focus on trade relationships: experts

Alberta pulls its weight in Canada’s agricultural trade — over 17 per cent of exports, according to the Canada West Foundation — and has been touted as a viable route for economic recovery post-pandemic.

Director of the Trade and Investment Centre, Carlo Dade, develops and leads research to promote growth and profitability in western Canada’s export economy. 

He says the instability of trade with the United States under the Trump administration is a relief to leave behind, but familiar challenges will return.

“It brings more certainty,” Dade said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: <span style="font-weight: 400;">"It brings more certainty," Dade said. </span>

“But the caution with that is it takes us back to where we were before, which is where you don’t have the 2 a.m. Tweet [from the president;, you just have the run-of-the-mill tariff threats, country-of-origin labelling and other issues that we’ve always had with the Americans.”

4:49 How the U.S.- Canada trade war on tariffs is eroding our economic relationship

A key factor in improving this will be for Alberta’s provincial leaders to work on forming stronger ties with the United States, Dale said. 

“We really need to step up engagement, do what folks in the Cascadia Corridor — British Columbia and Washington — are doing, do what folks in the Council of Great Lakes region are doing.

“And that is involvement by heads of government directly, strategically and long-term with their counterparts. This hasn’t been the case in Western Canada.”

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Global News reached out to Alberta Agriculture Minister Devin Dreeshen for comment but was told he wasn’t available on Thursday.

Trade Policy Economist for the Canada West Foundation, Sharon Sun, says another key to unlocking Canada’s agriculture trade potential is further diversification from major partners like China and the U.S.

“There’s a lot of opportunities with Japan — which one of our recent reports have identified specific, sectoral agricultural opportunities between Canada and Japan — as well as other markets such as Vietnam.”

She says despite China being on track to become more technologically self-sufficient, its desire to increase food security positions Canada well to continue trade growth now with more diversified southern Alberta crops like wheat and peas.