Alberta Speaker picked as Washington envoy

Premier Danielle Smith will send Speaker Nathan Cooper to Washington as the provincial representative, at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats put the Canada-U.S. trade relationship at its most precarious state in years.

Cooper has never held a cabinet post or worked in international affairs, but has been legislature Speaker since the UCP formed government in 2019.

He will replace James Rajotte, the former Edmonton Conservative MP who was the D.C. envoy under former premier Jason Kenney and Smith for nearly five years before stepping aside after Trump's second inauguration.

The appointment, first reported Wednesday by CBC News, was confirmed later in the day by Cooper and the premier.

"In this evolving landscape, Alberta must maintain and build on our ties with U.S. officials, and Nathan Cooper is the right choice to fill this important role," Smith said in a news release.

Cooper announced his new role in the legislature chamber, noting his role as its "chief diplomat" prepared him well for the role he'll fill starting in June. 

"I believe that we are at a critical time in our province and our country with respect to how we interact with the world and with the United States of America," he told the assembly. "How we do that interaction, I believe, is just as important as what we do to interact."

Cooper takes on the Washington role at a fraught time for U.S.-Canada relations, thanks to Trump's tariffs on automobiles, steel and aluminum, as well as threats to apply them more broadly on Canadian goods and even filmmaking.

The trade tensions have prompted Smith to make several trips south of the border in recent months, to meet with U.S. politicians in an attempt to discourage tariffs and promote Alberta's oil and gas exports. 

Rajotte, the now-former Washington envoy, accompanied the premier and her staff to Florida in January when she briefly met Trump at his Mar-a-Lago private club.

Alberta is one of several provinces with an appointed official representing it in Washington to advocate on trade and other issues. The office Cooper will take on is housed within the Canadian Embassy, steps from the Capitol building. It's the most high-profile post among the province's other U.S. offices in Chicago, Dallas, Minneapolis and Seattle.

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In a rare show of bipartisan support, Smith's news release included supportive quotes from two former NDP ministers, who both now work in private policy consulting. "Mr. Cooper is highly respected for his wisdom, integrity and ability to find common ground across parties," former economic development minister Deron Bilous said in the statement. "I cannot think of a better representative for Albertans in Washington."

Shannon Phillips, the former NDP environment minister, added that "Cooper will work hard for Albertans and a strong Canada."

In his own statement, Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi credited Cooper's "fairness, humanity and deep respect for parliamentary tradition," although Nenshi isn't yet an MLA and never served in the assembly while Cooper presided over it.

The surprise appointment of Alberta's legislature referee to the critical U.S. post creates a vacancy in the Speaker's chair. MLAs will select a new one on Tuesday, Cooper said. 

His June departure for Washington also creates a vacancy in the UCP-held rural seat of Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills.

Along with Edmonton seats formerly held by New Democrat members Rachel Notley and Rod Loyola, the premier will have to call three byelections in the coming months.

Cooper's resignation to become an Alberta diplomat comes on the heels of two former United Conservative members, Scott Sinclair and Peter Guthrie, being ousted from caucus and sitting as independents. This reduces the number of UCP MLAs in the 87-seat assembly to 46, at least temporarily.

Forty-four seats are required for a legislature majority in Alberta when there are no vacancies.

Cooper has used his six years as Speaker to help make the legislature and its history more approachable to Albertans, often using social media and videos to explain aspects of the provincial house's inner workings and quirks. He's broken down everything from arcane procedure to the legislature's bell tower and the Speaker's traditional three-corner "tricorn" hat.

"Sometimes, when we don't like the result of an election, here in Alberta, in our country or around the world, we are inclined to say things like, our democracy is broken," Cooper said in his departing speech to the chamber. 

"And I worry that it has a chilling impact on our democracy and our people. Honourable members, our democracy is important, it's alive and well, it is more accessible and open to an overwhelming majority of Albertans today than it has been at any point in time in our history."

Having served since 2019, when only NDP and UCP members were elected and third parties like the Liberals and Alberta Party were shut out, Cooper has presided over a sharply divided legislature. In his final legislature address, he stressed that the two sides may have differing views but there is more that unites MLAs.

"We share a common sense of purpose," Cooper said. "To defend our democracy, to make Alberta the best place to live, work and raise a family."