Premier To Meet with U.S. Governors

Released on June 23, 2017

Premier Brad Wall will discuss North American trade and energy security matters with leading American politicians next week when he attends a meeting of the governors of western states.

Wall will be in Whitefish, Montana June 25 and 26 for the first two days of the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) annual meeting.  He will participate in a roundtable panel on “connecting Canada and the West” with his U.S. counterparts and Canadian Ambassador to the United States David MacNaughton.  The premier will also hold individual meetings with the governors of North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

“My message to the governors will be the same one that I delivered recently in Iowa and Washington, which is that Canada and the United States have both benefited greatly over the years from liberalized trade,” Wall said.  “Any renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will build on decades of success and recognize just how integrated supply chains between Canada, Saskatchewan and the U.S. have become.

“I’ll also be reminding the governors that we share a common goal of North American energy independence and security and that Saskatchewan and the western states can work together to meet this objective.”

Saskatchewan exported $4.7 billion worth of products to the WGA region last year -- more than it exported to China.  Top Saskatchewan exports to the region included crude oil, oil cake, potash and canola oil.

Wall said he will also use the Whitefish meeting to underscore the importance of building the Keystone XL pipeline and of making continued investments in carbon capture and storage (CCS) research.

“The new U.S. federal administration has made a commitment to energy technology and continued use of coal as an energy source, and a number of western states are leaders in CCS research and enhanced oil recovery techniques,” Wall said.  “We have a compelling story to tell on SaskPower’s Boundary Dam 3 project and we look forward to sharing that expertise in new partnerships.”

Established in 1984, the Western Governors’ Association represents the governors of 19 western states and three “U.S.-flag” islands (Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands).  The association provides the governors with a forum for bipartisan policy development, information exchange and collective action on issues of common regional interest.

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For more information, contact:

James Parker
Executive Council
Regina
Phone: 306-787-1321
Email: james.parker@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-537-5492