Premier Scott Moe has returned from a trade mission to Washington, D.C. where he led a delegation of Canadian premiers to the National Governors Association (NGA) Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C., from February 7 – 10 in his capacity as chair of the Council of the Federation (COF). The COF delegation included New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, Québec Premier François Legault, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney.
“Over the past weekend, it was an honour to represent not just Saskatchewan, but all Canadians as premiers attended the National Governor’s Association,” Moe said. “The United States is Canada’s most significant trading partner and is the destination of more than 55 per cent of Saskatchewan’s exports. It is of the utmost importance that we continue to build on this relationship and ensure that our American neighbours know that we are actively working to ratify the USMCA in Canada.”
The mission to Washington, D.C. included a meeting between the COF delegation, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and United States Trade Representative Ambassador Robert Lighthizer. The COF delegation also held a joint meeting with Acting Canadian Ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman. In both meetings, Premiers communicated their commitment to the swift Canadian ratification of the USMCA and discussed opportunities to further integrate the Canadian and United States economies.
During the mission, Premier Moe conducted a number of bilateral meetings with officials, including:
• The governors of Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Maryland and South Carlolina;
• House representatives from North Dakota and Ohio;
• Administration officials including the Undersecretary of Energy, the Assistant Director of Nuclear Energy in the President’s Science and Technology Division and the Department of Commerce’s Western Hemisphere Division; and
• Mexican governors Francisco Domínguez Servién and Carlos Mendoza Davis, chair and incoming chair of the Mexican National Governors’ Conference, the Mexican counterpart organization to COF.
Premier Moe also addressed governors and NGA delegates at an NGA plenary session focused on infrastructure innovation and spoke at an event hosted by the Wilson Center’s Canada Institute on the next decade of U.S.-Canada relations from the premiers’ perspective.
“With the American ratification of the USMCA, Canada’s premiers took a leadership position in ensuring that decision makers in the United States know that we are committed to the swift ratification of this vital trade deal in Canada,” Moe said. “I’m returning home with a simple message for all Canadian parliamentarians: get this deal ratified immediately.”
In 2018, Saskatchewan exported $16.9 billion worth of goods to the United States, representing 55 per cent of Saskatchewan’s total exports. In addition, Saskatchewan imported $9.9 billion worth of goods from the United States.
