REGINA - Premier Scott Moe’s reaction was positive following Prime Minister Mark Carney’s call with premiers about his meeting with President Donald Trump.
“I think it went as good as could be expected,” was Moe’s reaction in speaking to reporters about what transpired. “Everybody seemed to be on a little bit more positive relationship path, and that is what I was hoping for coming out of this meeting.”
He elaborated some more on why he came away feeling good.
“I think largely, one, I appreciated the debrief after the meeting yesterday. That doesn't always happen. So that communication is good. Two, I was pleased with how the meeting went yesterday. I know Prime Minister Carney had said, don't expect white smoke coming out of the White House. I think many Canadians were happy that it wasn't black smoke coming out of the White House... There was no talk of ‘Governor’, a little bit of ‘51st State’, but I don't think the Prime Minister takes that seriously and I don't think we as Canadians should take that literally either. This is our largest trading partner and I think that's probably the most positive meeting that we've seen in quite some time.”
Moe adds the premiers will continue to "educate and advocate" on behalf of industries that matter to their constituents. He said he was hopeful about the relationship with the USA going forward.
“I've always had hope with respect to the relationship with the U.S., and I've always felt that we were going to find a path through this, as bumpy as that might be in the meantime, so to speak. And I would continue to say that not only do I have hope that that relationship will be preserved, but I think it may be improved on, as we ensure that we grow the North American economy, North American energy dominance, North American opportunities, and keep our North American economy as competitive as possible, relative to some other continental economies around the world that are the actual competitors.”
Moe said the general feeling among the other Premiers was positive.
“I think there's an acknowledgement that there's still some road to travel with our relationship with President Trump and his administration, and there'll be some tough conversations to be had. I think in fairness, I think there's also an understanding that there's some road for us to travel as Canadians, for us to come back and truly be unified, and that might look a little bit different in various parts of the country versus other parts. And so I think there's an acknowledgement that there's some hard work ahead of us.”
Following that call came word that Prime Minister Carney and the Premiers will be in Saskatchewan next month. They will be meeting June 2 in Saskatoon. That follows on the heels of an invitation Moe had made recently to Carney to visit Saskatchewan.
“He had offered that maybe we should host the First Minister's meeting there, and I said that would be great, consider it done,” said Moe.
“And so we're planning in early June to host all of the premiers and the Prime Minister in Saskatoon. I look forward to a good discussion in the lead-up to the G7 meetings in Banff. It'll be a good ongoing discussion with respect to our relationship not only with the U.S., but also China. And I think in the meantime, and even after that, some good discussion on how we can really bring Canadians together in light of a fairly divisive election and a fairly divisive time.”
The thorny issue of addressing western alienation is expected to be one topic of discussion, but Moe said it was his hope that, point by point, they are “able to actually work on it in the meantime in some of the work that we're doing.”
“I think we can provide some relevant advice for some policy direction change for the Prime Minister so that we can find that common ground where Saskatchewan industries and people are really feeling respected within the nation of Canada. And that hasn't always been the case over the last decade.”
On issues such as the C-69 "no new pipelines" bill, the clean electricity regulations, and others, Moe told reporters he thinks Carney is open to having conversations on each of those topics. He said his hope is for some “definite change in existing policies” in order to legitimately restart the relationship between the province and the Feds.
“I would urge him to and I would urge those that might be part of his cabinet and caucus to look at not only those policy initiatives but how you're arriving at policy a little bit differently than maybe we have in the last eight or 10 years,” Moe said.
“New leadership starts at the top, and if we truly are going to find our way to a better spot in Canada where all Canadians, including those in Saskatchewan, and I'll speak on behalf of Saskatchewan, feel truly included in the policy development and ultimately the policies that come out of Ottawa. And I don't think that's been the case the last eight to 10 years.”
