Elbows up or down? Why Alberta is diplomacy-first in the trade war | CBC News

Alberta's Washington envoy says province's position on alcohol gives it an edge

Alberta’s top U.S. diplomat says playing nice is paying off for his province in the Canada-U.S. trade war. 

Nathan Cooper, Alberta’s senior representative to the United States, told CBC’s West of Centre that compared to provinces that have taken a more aggressive approach, Alberta has come out ahead. 

“I think the premier’s diplomacy-first approach has really not only been helpful for me, but certainly helpful for the province,” Cooper said.

“If we look at the impact of U.S. tariffs on the Alberta economy, we have a disproportionately low impact.”

Experts have said while Alberta’s industries are not immune to the impact of the trade dispute, they are not seeing the direct hit other provinces are. Despite the trade war, the U.S. continues to increase its imports of Canadian oil. 

The comments come as Cooper, the former speaker of the Alberta legislature, spent time in Nashville, Tenn., with Premier Danielle Smith last week. 

Cooper said American officials have been “significantly more responsive” to his team than some of his provincial counterparts. 

Alberta is the only remaining province with no ban or retaliatory levy on U.S. alcohol imports. The province’s position on that is something the Americans have shown “a real appreciation” for, Cooper said. 

“I believe that that's actually translated into results for the province of Alberta,” he said. 

The premier said her trip to Music City was a personal one, but she took time to meet with business and tourism leaders while there. Ahead of her trip, Smith also appeared on U.S. news networks pushing for a return to the bargaining table.

Following Smith’s trip to Mar-a-Lago last year, she was called out for not being a part of a unified “Team Canada” response.