B.C. and Washington State sign friendly agreement despite Canada-U.S. tensions
Despite frosty tensions between Canada and the U.S., B.C. and Washington state are still looking to establish closer ties between their jurisdictions.
The two legislatures signed what they call a “historic agreement” on Thursday, creating a British Columbia-Washington State Interparliamentary Group.
“The opportunities to learn from each other and work together to advance joint interests have grown exponentially today,” said Raj Chouhan, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, in a release.
The goal of the group is to “promote dialogue between legislators, explore solutions to common challenges, address cross-border constituency matters, and engage in discussions about areas of mutual interest and accomplishment.”
Denny Heck, the Lieutenant Governor of Washington State, has been working with B.C. politicians for years to create this bi-lateral group, including Chouhan and Rick Glumac, B.C.’s minister of state for AI and new technologies.
“We recognized that Washington State and British Columbia have always been and will always remain friends and neighbours — so let’s do more work together,” said Glumac.
This agreement comes years after the idea of a high-speed rail linking Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland was suggested. Over the past year, travel between the two regions has also sharply dropped.
It also comes during high tensions between the two border nations, with U.S. President Trump’s infamous “51st state” comments and the dizzying trade war that has ensued since he entered office.
Since then, B.C. has sought to find global trade partners and expand beyond the U.S., with the province recently announcing that Premier David Eby is going on a trade mission to India.