Alberta trade offices seek outside help in ramping up U.S. presence

Alberta is looking for outside help with government and public relations as the province embarks on its largest expansion of U.S. trade offices since first appointing a representative to Washington in 2004.

Last month, the province announced it will open trade offices in Seattle, Denver and Chicago in 2022, adding to the existing offices in Houston and Washington. 

The two requests for proposals, posted just before Christmas, seeks a third party to help create and execute plans for engaging with the federal administration, Congress and state governments, and getting Alberta coverage in the national and regional U.S. media.

The successful parties will be contracted for two years, with the possibility of a one-year extension. 

James Rajotte, a former Edmonton-area Conservative MP named Alberta's senior representative to Washington in 2020, will be responsible for the offices, including an existing one in Mexico City. 

Rajotte says 85 per cent of Alberta's exports go to the U.S. so it's important to have ears on the ground for opportunities and issues. 

"You just simply have to be present," he said in an interview with CBC News." Everybody is trying to get the attention of policymakers south of the border, so you have to allocate sustained dedicated resources in order to do so."

Alberta exports to the U.S. totalled $77.5 billion in 2020, meaning the effort is worth it, Rajotte said. 

"Because of the size of the trade, if we can increase that even by a percentage or two, that's a massive amount of benefit to us here in Alberta." 

The cost of opening the new trade offices is estimated at $2.3 million. A spokesperson for Jobs, Economy and Innovation Minister Doug Schweitzer said the money is coming from the ministry's existing budget.  

Critics question the value of a provincial government having a presence in Washington D.C. 

Former Progressive Conservative minister Murray Smith was Alberta's first senior trade representative to Washington, serving from 2004 to 2007. Smith was succeeded by Gary Mar, another former cabinet minister, and former Conservative MP Rob Merrifield. Former diplomat Gitane da Silva headed up the office when the NDP were in government. 

Greg Anderson is a political science professor at the University of Alberta who specializes in U.S.-Canada relations, international trade and the North American political economy. 

Anderson said it's valuable for a provincial government to have eyes and ears on the ground, particularly in the trade offices outside of Washington where staff can play close attention to issues arising in state legislatures and the region. But, he argued, it is difficult to quantify how much trade is generated solely by adding more offices and staff.