Alberta Launches $6.5 Million Research Initiative Focused on Canada-US Relations and Policy

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks to the media in Calgary on Sept. 18, 2023. The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh

The Alberta government says it wants to fill a research gap in U.S.-Canada relations to better understand the evolving North American dynamic and help the province address the impact of U.S. policy shifts.

The new research program, called the New North America Initiative, would bring together the “brightest minds” from academia, government, and the private sector from across the continent to analyze developments in U.S.-Canada relations and create policy proposals to enhance collaboration between the two countries, Premier Danielle Smith said in a May 16 press conference.

She said that while the relationship between the two countries has been strained in recent months, a decades-long bond still unites them, and that a clearer understanding of the situation could help assess what is effective and what could be improved for the benefit of both sides.

“A strong and collaborative relationship with the United States is essential to Alberta’s long-term success,” Smith said. “This initiative will deepen academic and policy partnerships, and expand Alberta’s research capacity, to support and develop effective responses to shifts in Canada-U.S. relations.”

The province is allocating $6.5 million over the next three years to the initiative, which will be led by the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy and will involve collaboration with a number of Alberta and U.S. universities.

Those institutions include the University of Alberta, University of Lethbridge, Mount Royal University, University of Nebraska, University of Colorado, Arizona State University, and Texas-based Rice University.

Former Advanced Education Minister Rajan Sawhney, who was reassigned to the indigenous relations portfolio later that day in a cabinet shuffle, said that most existing research on Canada-U.S. relations comes from Eastern Canada or the United States.

“This narrow focus too often fails to reflect the priorities or even the realities of Western Canada,” she said at the May 16 press conference.

“If we are to respond effectively to these shifting dynamics, all parts of Canada must be heard and reflected in our academic and policy thinking.”

She noted that following the recent closure of the Canada Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, Alberta’s new research initiative will be the only one in North America focused solely on Canada-U.S. relations. The Canada Institute had served as a policy research organization focused on promoting understanding of Canada in the United States.

The province says the New North America Initiative will give the students involved hands-on research experience while helping them build skills for careers in government, the private sector, or civil society.

The project’s initial main focus will be on bilateral relations in the context of Alberta, the province said.