P.E.I. premier praises NAFTA
Eastern Canadian premiers meeting with New England governors in Charlottetown
A meeting between Canadian premiers, U.S. governors and businesses from both sides of the border is helping make a case on the importance of finding a successful continuation of NAFTA, says P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan.
MacLauchlan is hosting the 41st Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers in Charlottetown, which began Sunday and will continue today at the Delta Prince Edward.
Although the meeting is happening in the midst of NAFTA renegotiations between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, MacLauchlan said he doesn’t expect anything to come out of the conference that will “directly influence the negotiations.”
However, he said the conference is a good example of why parties on both sides of the border should seek a “successful continuation of NAFTA.”
“There’s a lot of business done at both sides of the border, we’ve seen ours grow almost double in the last five years with the United States and that’s true of others that are here,” he said.
“The more open the border, the more prosperous both sides will be.”
MacLauchlan also described the inter-connectedness between the Canadian and U.S. economies.
About 30 U.S. states, including five of the six New England states, have Canada as their main trading partner. In P.E.I., exports to the U.S. increased by about 20 per cent in the first six months of 2017, encompassing everything from aerospace, bioscience and advanced manufacturing to agriculture.
“It’s amazing how much work is being done here in Prince Edward Island that is feeding into major construction in the United States,” he said.
Despite the close economic relationship between Canada and the U.S., President Donald Trump has made numerous threats to terminate NAFTA.
The most recent came in a tweet Sunday morning.
However, while speaking during a forum on food innovation, MP Lawrence MacAulay noted that he has seen a “clear will on both sides of the table to make a great agreement even better.”
“NAFTA is an extraordinary success story,” said MacAulay, who previously met with his U.S. and Mexican counterparts on the issue earlier this year.
“Together you’re helping keep our trading relationship strong, balanced and beneficial for both of our nations. Nearly half a million jobs in New England depend on trade and investment with Canada.”
For the first time, the conference has also included a “business to business” component, which MacLauchlan said will translate into an approximate 400 one-on-one meetings between businesses.
He said there is also a benefit to hosting the conference in P.E.I., which is where it was first established in 1973.
He said it helps raise the province’s profile.
“You always have an opportunity when people get together like this to build relationships and have informal discussions,” said MacLauchlan.
“I don’t mind finding another opportunity for people to understand what the mighty Island is all about.”