Alberta government launches research centre to study Canada-U.S. relations

Globe and Mail

18-05-2025

The Alberta government is launching a new research centre to study the political and economic dynamics between Canada and the United States, as U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war and 51st-state rhetoric have upended the previously close relationship between the two countries.
The New North American Initiative, led by the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy, will receive $6.5-million over three years from the province. Post-secondary institutions and universities on both sides of the border will share expertise on navigating the new Canada-U.S. landscape.
'It's no secret that our relationship has hit a rocky patch this past few months, and while tensions have ridden high, let us be clear, this relationship is far from over,' Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said during the public announcement Friday.
In addition to conducting research, the initiative will also provide students with firsthand experience and skills necessary for employment in government, the private sector and civil society. Other institutions involved include the University of Alberta, the University of Lethbridge, the University of Colorado and the University of Nebraska.
'With the crisis in Canada-U.S. relations, it's clear our traditional policies and the ways we engage the Americans, and their federal and state governments, have not been enough,' said Martha Hall Findlay, director of the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy in a press release.
'We need new thinking and new ways of engaging, and we need the work behind this to come from new places and new voices on both sides of the border.'
Mr. Trump's tariffs on a range of key Canadian industries, including steel, aluminum and automobiles, as well as his calls for the annexation of Canada have strained relations with Ottawa.
The two countries, along with Mexico, are also expected to begin a difficult renegotiation of the continental free trade agreement in the coming year.
The New North American Initiative's work is not limited to the four years of the Trump administration but will comprehensively examine the U.S. as it changes into the future, according to Carlo Dade, the director of international policy at the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy.
'This isn't just Trump. It's the Democrats. It's what comes next on the left in the U.S. So we're looking at generational change, and this is a generational shift in how we think about and how we engage the U.S.,' he said in an interview.
The initiative could help fill a void in the think-tank ecosystem left by Mr. Trump's March executive order on reducing the federal bureaucracy that led to the sudden shutdown of the Washington-based Wilson Center's Canada Institute, one of the most prestigious organizations in the study of the bilateral relationship.
With a report from Mark Rendell.