GREAT FALLS, Mont. – Ralph Klein and Marc Racicot would rather be seen as kissing cousins than antagonists across the 49th parallel.
An agriculture trade summit held here June 1-2, called by the Alberta premier and Montana governor, was meant to demonstrate how the two regions have more in common than they do with their counterparts in the eastern capitals.
“It all boils down to who you know,” Racicot told reporters.
By getting to know one another, the governor said disputes are easier to iron out than going to an international trade dispute panel.
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Added Klein: “There is a huge potential to trade together and develop mechanisms to settle trade skirmishes amongst ourselves.”
Both leaders have better than 70 percent approval ratings among voters. They want to reverse the flow of decision making so the federal governments can make informed rather than abstract decisions about things that directly concern the West.
“How can we expect someone in Ottawa or Washington, D.C. conceiving of policy in the abstract to know and understand what it is that occurs in Alberta and Montana with precision?” said Racicot.
To keep the contact going, the western premiers are meeting with the western governors association in Wyoming at the end of this month to talk about common problems.
The two pointed out that their cattle, forestry and grain industries are similar.
While a border rally is set for July 9 to protest low farm prices and trade agreements, Racicot dismissed it as an isolated incident.
While the states and provinces can’t do much to settle differences in currency values, there are things that can improve trade.
Alberta is spending $800 million to upgrade its north-south highway corridor to four lanes to link with Interstate 15, which ends up at the Mexican border.
