The Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) summit rolls into Whistler July 21 to 25, and this year’s theme centres around clean energy and innovation.
The summit brings Canadian and U.S. delegates together to rub shoulders and brainstorm issues that impact the Pacific Northwest, with roundtable discussion topics on energy security, tourism and food sustainability, to name a few.
Matt Morrison is the executive director and CEO for the group, and he said the event is a high-level broad discussion that spans topics relating to the integrated economic and geographic region of the PNW.
“'It’s a very broad discussion, some 20 different working groups, everything from housing to energy, aquatic invasive species, animal health, water policy,” he said.
The attendee list includes high up politicos in B.C., like Premier David Eby and Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon, as well as federal officials like Minister Anita Anand, President of the Treasury Board of Canada. Representatives from the Yukon, Saskatchewan and Northwest Territories will be in attendance, and U.S. ambassador David Cohen is also listed.
Clean energy
Shifting to clean energy requires cross-border partnerships between states and businesses, and one important discussion is how to shift to hydrogen as a low-carbon option.
“We're in the midst of doing a study on the B.C. and Washington hydrogen hubs and how they can benefit from each other, and what is the future of the hydrogen economy,” Morrison said.
“So, there'll be a panel on both hydrogen production, what's happening throughout the region, and then hydrogen demand. How are we utilizing hydrogen in heavy duty trucks, industrial applications, and how does this all fit into a decarbonized future?”
Decarbonization discourse will focus on road and maritime transportation, with ideas on decarbonizing ferries, potential for high-speed rail, and how to reduce emissions from trucking.
“EV charging is moving, but the trucks are really a problem," Morrison said, pointing to drayage trucks in particular, "which are the dirtiest trucks on the road, and they go usually on a 100-mile circuit.
"We're trying to electrify the drayage trucks in both Vancouver and Seattle,” he said, adding there are 8,000 split between Vancouver and Seattle.
State and provincial efforts to create hydrogen fuelling stations will need federal support north and south of the 49th parallel, according to Morrison.
Companies sponsoring the event include carbon emitters Enbridge and Teck, and Morrison said these companies use hydrogen in their refining processes and work towards decarbonization.
“Part of the challenge of building a hydrogen economy is finding people who use hydrogen,” he said.
Morrison also highlighted First Nations equity partnership discussions tabled for the summit that focus on First Nations rights and commercial partnerships. There are an estimated 470 projects in the next 10 years which impact First Nation land and represent $525 billion in capital, with sectors including electrification, clean energy and critical minerals.
Tourism
Vancouver is a host city for the FIFA World Cup in 2026, and Morrison said preparation for the event is on a larger scale than the 2010 Olympics.
“How do we get four Amtrak Cascades trains a day into Vancouver from Seattle? Since the World Cup is in three countries, we’ll have a whole series of meetings on border processes,” he said.
Issues around security are also on the table, with organizers trying to streamline border entry without compromising safety.
Reporting from Business in Vancouver indicates the City of Vancouver will spend $73 million on the event for safety and security.
“It's two years away, but Vancouver has a very robust planning process, and so does Seattle, but we need to be working together to address the cross-border elements of the 900,000 people we expect are going to be coming,” Morrison said.
He described planning to be a challenge not faced before, when considering the seven matches spanning June and July 2026 at BC Place and another six matches at Lumen Field in Seattle.
“It'll be a challenge unlike anything we've faced," he said. "I think it's bigger than the Olympics that we had in 2010.”
Agriculture, livestock and environment
The PNW has sizable agriculture and livestock economies, and Morrison highlighted a two-day exercise funded by the state of Washington that explores how bilateral jurisdictions can tackle animal health issues when there’s an outbreak.
“That largely came out after the flooding of two years ago, when there were so many issues with livestock in the Lower Mainland," he said. "There was not enough collaboration with Washington state and other states. So we're trying to shore that up.”
Parlays will also centre around the Columbia River Treaty with a goal of preventing aquatic invasive species from entering the Columbia River Basin, which spans 668,000 square kilometres between B.C., Idaho, Oregon and Washington, while touching a few other states.
On July 11, the U.S. and Canada reached an agreement in principal to modernize the treaty, first ratified in 1964.
Leaders will discuss invasive zebra and quagga mussels, which, according to the province of B.C., are of specific concern. They attach themselves to boat hulls or vegetation and are very small when first attached, survive outside of water in cool and moist environments and recreational boaters often move them from place to place by accident. They have spread to Ontario and Quebec and 24 U.S. states.
The invasive mussels threaten salmon by altering food webs, overtaking native plants and degrading water quality. They can plug pipes and water intake systems at hydropower plants or agriculture irrigation and municipal water plants. A 2023 report found they could cause economic damage totalling anywhere from $64 million to $129 million.
Another addition to the discussions includes cross-border disaster response capacity for wildfires.
The event takes place at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler.
According to a release sent by Global Public Affairs, PNWER is a public/private non-profit organization created in 1991 whose mission “is to increase the economic well-being and quality of life for all citizens of the region, identify and promote ‘models of success,’ and serve as a conduit to exchange information.” Canadian member jurisdictions include B.C., AB, NWT, Sask., YK and U.S. includes Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon.
