As leader of the smallest province represented at the first ministers’ meeting in Montreal, Wade MacLauchlan, says his main goal was to keep things civil.
“It's one of the things you can do from a smaller province. You're kind of perceived to be not bringing as much self-interest to the table as some of the bigger players might do," MacLauchlan said.
In the lead-up to Friday’s meeting of Canadian premiers, media headlines had cast the summit as being overcome by discord. Ontario Premier Doug Ford had threatened to walk out of the meetings in a dispute over the agenda.
But by Friday afternoon, MacLauchlan said the tone of the meeting was constructive.
Energy and agricultural issues occupied crucial parts of the agenda.
At the urging of Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, discussions around the export price of oil became a key focus for the premiers.
In a statement following the meeting, Notley described the impact of low Canadian oil prices as a “slow car crash”, due to the comparatively higher price of US oil.
MacLauchlan said he was also encouraged by talks focused on ‘energy corridors’ between provinces. Quebec and Manitoba currently have a surplus of electricity, which is exported to US states.
“There's a serious discussion about how we can move energy around in Canada in a way that will get to the customer, will get its best price and will meet our climate commitment," MacLauchlan said.
"It's frankly something that Prince Edward Island was trying to get the national table to talk about back when Alex Campbell was the premier.”
Campbell was premier from 1966 to 1978.
An east-west power grid does not exist but has been suggested several times before by provincial leaders.
MacLauchlan said inter-provincial agreements around electricity could be “huge” for P.E.I. and could help the province move its own supplies of clean energy off-Island.
MacLauchlan also said there has been progress on the issue of inter-provincial trade, particularly on the sale of alcoholic goods. He also said he had been “insistent” that dairy farmers gain access in the near future to federal support programs due to the loss of market access under the new USMCA trade deal.
MacLauchlan had his first face-to-face meeting with New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs on Friday. Higgs has replaced his predecessor Brian Gallant as chairman of the Council of the Federation.
"He's very concerned for New Brunswick to gain some ground in terms of its economy and population," MacLauchlan said of Higgs.
"They tell us that some people are saying that they should try to do what P.E.I. is doing."
