For 50 years the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers have been working together to address common issues. The group’s first in-person, post-COVID conference since 2018 is this weekend.
Since 1973 governors and premiers from the six New England states and five eastern Canadian provinces have met annually to discuss common issues. Former Vermont Governor Jim Douglas recalls working with the group even before taking office.
“I was executive assistant to Governor Dick Snelling in the late 70s and early 80s and I recall attending conferences of New England governors and eastern Canadian premiers with him. So it’s been a long-standing tradition for the leaders of these jurisdictions to get together. And I think it’s really important because of the geography that we share, the common bonds and heritages. We often talk about environmental concerns that certainly transcend international borders. We talk about the close economic ties that we have, the strength of our tourism industry in particular. And we talk about the cultural heritage that we share. So I think it’s really important that the leaders of the states and provinces get together on a regular basis.”
Douglas remembers one meeting he hosted that focused on demographics across the region, along with other issues such as security, energy, and regional economics.
“Working on environmental issues was very important. One year Montreal hosted the United Nations Conference on Climate Change and so we took the opportunity to have a sub-national meeting of governors and premiers not only from this region but from other parts of Canada and the United States and around the world. And I found that particularly interesting. We talked a lot about public safety in those days and we also had agricultural discussions and transportation.”
SUNY Plattsburgh Center for the Study of Canada Director Christopher Kirkey calls the annual meeting an important binational forum.
“It’s an important forum for these leaders of government in particular, members of chambers of commerce and others to get together to make sure that trade is working correctly and to perhaps even identify opportunities to expand on trade and investment. So to the extent that this forum exists and it stands as an opportunity to facilitate greater partnership and greater cooperation it is important.”
Kirkey sees a gap between what the group has identified as areas of potential cooperation and what actually happens.
“It’s not out of line to say that as a forum to facilitate discussions it’s been positive. But if you measure by substantive actions some might suggest that it hasn’t delivered as well as it could otherwise have.”
The meeting is scheduled for Sunday and Monday in Quebec City.
The 11 members are New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Québec, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
The last in-person gathering was in Vermont five years ago.
