Now that Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is in Washington, D.C., she’s preparing to meet with members of President Donald Trump’s administration.
Notley has travelled to the United States capital for a three-day trip focused on preserving the relationship with the Alberta’s largest trading partner.
The premier said she hopes to address a hypothetical border tax on energy exports to the U.S.
Meanwhile, Trump has talked in the past about renegotiating NAFTA, which could translate to heavier levies for Alberta.
More than $84 billion worth of goods was exchanged between Alberta and the United States in 2016.
“It’s just that face-time that ensures now that people remember that’s Alberta, they produce this and it benefits us in this way or that way, and we need to remember that these are our friends,” Notley said in a teleconference Tuesday.
Notley is the first Canadian premier to visit Washington since Trump was sworn-in as president. She has already met with political and industry leaders and think-tanks.
She said she shares a similar vision as Trump – in his focus on jobs and economic security – but said the new administration is difficult to read.
“It’s impossible to speculate on the eventual outcomes of the decision-making processes underway at the highest levels of the U.S. government while uncertainty remains over what future trade discussions will look like, there is zero uncertainty when it comes to my focus,” Notley said.
The Trump administration has given new life to TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline, proposed to connect Alberta’s oilsands to refineries on the Gulf Coast, which will create jobs in Alberta and the U.S.
It wasn’t clear Tuesday morning exactly when Notley will meet with officials from the president’s administration – she has already met with members of the Heritage Foundation, a group which is considered a key policy influencer on the Trump administration.
With files from Jonathan Glasgow
