A different playbook
While some provinces have leaned into a tougher, more public fight with Washington over tariffs, Alberta has taken the opposite approach: quiet, steady diplomacy behind closed doors.
Nathan Cooper, Alberta's senior representative to the United States, told CBC's West of Centre podcast that this strategy has put the province ahead of others that chose confrontation. Cooper's job is essentially to be Alberta's man in Washington, building relationships with American lawmakers, officials and business leaders to protect the province's economic interests as the trade war between Canada and the U.S. continues to churn.
Elbows up, or elbows down?
The "elbows up" phrase, borrowed from hockey and popularized during Canada's response to U.S. tariff threats, has become shorthand for a defiant, confrontational posture. Some Canadian leaders have embraced it publicly, framing the trade fight as a national moment of resistance.
Cooper suggests Alberta sees it differently. Rather than trading barbs or issuing ultimatums, the province has focused on maintaining working relationships with American counterparts, betting that access and dialogue produce better outcomes than public standoffs. According to Cooper, that bet has paid off so far, with Alberta reporting fewer disruptions and more room to maneuver than provinces that picked fights.
Why this matters beyond Alberta
Canada's response to U.S. trade pressure has never been uniform. Provinces depend on the American market to different degrees and for different products, from energy to manufacturing to agriculture, which means Ottawa's federal negotiators are often trying to balance competing provincial interests while presenting a unified front internationally.
The debate over confrontation versus diplomacy isn't just political theatre. It has real consequences for exporters, workers and industries watching to see which approach actually protects jobs and market access. If Alberta's quieter strategy is genuinely outperforming louder tactics used elsewhere, it could reshape how other provinces, and even the federal government, approach future rounds of trade tension with the U.S.
What comes next
The trade war shows no sign of a quick resolution, and provinces will keep testing different strategies as talks continue. Cooper's comments offer a window into how one province is betting on relationships over rhetoric, a wager that could become a model, or a cautionary tale, depending on how the broader dispute plays out in the months ahead.
Source: CBC News
