Angela Pitt, the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Airdrie-East, is heading to San Antonio, Texas, today to meet with U.S. state legislators, where she says she will promote Alberta’s energy sector and raise concerns about potential trade barriers.
From May 15 to 17, Pitt is scheduled to attend the Spring Executive Committee and Energy Supply Task Force meetings of the National Conference of State Legislatures, a U.S.-based organization representing lawmakers and legislative staff from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. Alberta joined the organization as an affiliate member in 2024.
The trip was announced on Wednesday in a statement from the Government of Alberta.
"I'm travelling to the U.S. to engage with U.S. state legislators and other officials to advance Alberta priorities and interests, including trade, investment, energy security and critical trade infrastructure," Pitt wrote in a statement to Discover Airdrie. "I will promote Alberta's energy resources as a means of supplying U.S. energy security, affordability and prosperity."
"I'll take the opportunity to highlight the potential impacts of tariffs that affect trade flows," she added. "Lastly, if we aren't all out there representing Alberta, no one else is. I'm so pleased to represent Alberta to our most critical economic partner."
According to the Government of Alberta's May 14 statement, the meetings are intended to "advance conversations on how Alberta and the U.S. can partner in shared prosperity and economic growth through enhanced energy trade." The statement also described the talks as having "the potential to contribute to foundational state-level energy policies."
The Government of Alberta said the mission would help "repair and strengthen" Alberta's trade relationship with the United States. When asked what parts of that relationship she believes are in need of repair, Pitt wrote that she would highlight Alberta's role in U.S. energy security and the potential impacts of tariffs that affect trade flows.
According to the Government of Alberta, the United States is Alberta's largest trading partner. In 2024, Alberta exported C$162.1 billion in goods to the U.S.—accounting for 88.7 per cent of the province's total exports. Energy products made up about C$133.4 billion of that total. Alberta is the second-largest provincial exporter to the U.S. after Ontario.
When asked what specific commitments or policy outcomes she is aiming to secure that would directly benefit Albertans, including residents of Airdrie-East, Pitt wrote that she would engage with U.S. state legislators and other officials to advance Alberta's interests, including trade, investment, energy security and critical trade infrastructure.
Pitt is scheduled to take part in a meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures' International Legislative Advisory Committee. The province said she has attended previous committee sessions in summer 2024, before Christmas, and in January 2025.
Her itinerary includes bilateral meetings with U.S. legislators, energy policy roundtables, and sessions with the Executive Committee. She is scheduled to return to Alberta on May 17.
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