LLOYDMINSTER - Should former Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall be appointed High Commissioner to India?
That was a question posed to Premiers Scott Moe and Danielle Smith at the recent Saskatchewan-Alberta joint government caucus meeting held in Lloydminster. This comes on the heels of the recent news from the G7 meetings that Canada and India have agreed to reestablish high commissioners for the first time in a number of years. This is a move seen as easing the tensions between the two countries.
Both the Alberta and Saskatchewan Premiers gave a thumbs-up to the idea of Wall holding that role.
“I'd be supportive of that,” said Alberta’s Smith, adding “I think that Saskatchewan has done incredibly impressive work on expanding its footprint internationally through its trade offices, in particular India.”
She noted the presence in India had been “abridged because of the tension over the last couple of years,” but she noted they also have presence in China which “has been under pressure in the last few years as well.”
“Diplomacy means that you continue the relationship, knowing that although you have bad patches from time to time, that at some point you end up resolving your differences and you move forward. So I think that there's still differences and issues that have to be addressed but I think it would be a positive step for us to to begin having those conversations.”
“I would also be a proponent for former premier Brad Wall to be not only a high commissioner to India but essentially the face and the voice for many of Canada's foreign relations,” said Moe. “We'll see what his answer is to that.”
Why he would be a proponent of Wall in that role, he said, is “because of the effort and the focus that he provided our province and our government under his tenure to those province-to-nation relations and province-to-industry relations in not just India but many countries around the world.”
The Saskatchewan premier said this speaks to “the opportunity that we want to fulfill” referring to the port to port concept of connecting to Asian and European markets. He also pointed to the work to build trade relations not only with the USA but other markets around the world — “which at times can be challenging.”
“We've had we've been part of tariff conversations in India in years gone by, currently are (and) have been in years gone by with China, as well as many other countries around the world. We have a strong uh trade relationship with India today from Saskatchewan's perspective. I would say more broadly from Western Canada's perspective.. I would uh just take the opportunity to commend uh Prime Minister Kearney as well for first inviting Prime Minister Modi to the G7, and then to sit down and to advance the trade relationship that Canada has with India.”
