A mid-November conference in Montreal surrounding the signing of an alliance between six southeastern U.S. states and seven central and eastern Canadian provinces was aimed at furthering business ties between the regions.

“This is a business-driven forum,” Quebec's premier, Jean Charest, said during a press conference following the signing ceremony, which was held Nov. 16 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Montreal. Although there is a similar alliance with northeastern U.S. states, he said that that relationship is mostly political while this one is to be primarily commercial.

Gov. Sonny Perdue, who was praised by Mr. Charest as the prime mover of the alliance based on the success the Southeast has had in its 30-year alliance with Japan, said that new agreement underscored the business-savvy decision to "enhance relationships with your best customers.”

During the two-day trade mission, Mr. Perdue on several occasions stressed his background as a small businessman, stretching from his days as a veterinarian through the development of his agribusiness interests, including buying and selling commodities produced by farmers in central and south Georgia.

Following the signing ceremony in the Intercontinental’s formal Sarah Bernhardt room, Yves Laflamme, senior vice president of the wood products business of Montreal-based AbitibiBowater Inc., a global forest products company, was appointed to lead the next alliance meeting.

Robert S. Jepson, chairman and CEO of Savannah-based Jepson Associates, a private investment company, has been appointed the Georgia co-chair to work with Mr. Laflamme to host the upcoming meeting to be held in Savannah in mid-June of 2008. At that time, the alliance’s leadership is to be taken over by business leaders.

At the press conference and in his other speeches, Mr. Perdue underscored the importance of the alliance as a way that six southeastern states could reinforce the already important commercial ties with the central and eastern provinces of Canada.

“This is the next step in a long and prosperous history between us. Canada is already Georgia's top trading partner, with $212 million in imports and $4.7 billion in exports in 2006.”

While Mr. Perdue advanced Georgia’s interests, he and the other participants recognized the current importance of trade between the regions. Mr. Charest was even needled by a Montreal-based reporter in French about the necessity of the alliance if the relationship already was so strong.

He replied by saying that “if we are not going forward we are probably going backwards.” He pointed out that production chains are now “global and hemispheric.” He also stressed the increasing competitiveness of China and India, which are now entering Canada’s traditional markets.

Meanwhile, Canada’s forestry and energy sectors remain healthy, he added. “The spine of our relationship is energy, and I'm not speaking just about oil and gas. If we are a superpower of energy, we also are a superpower of alternative energies such as wind, hydro, electric, clean and renewable energy.”

Mr. Perdue pointed to aerospace, life sciences, logistics and agriculture as economic sectors providing opportunities for collaboration. The already well-established tourism between the regions was another area providing new opportunity, they said.

When questioned about security and border issues, Mr. Charest and Mr. Perdue both said security was a concern, but Mr. Charest criticized the current Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requiring all persons traveling by air between the U.S. and Canada to present a passport or other valid travel document to enter or re-enter the U.S. These requirements are to apply for land and sea travelers in 2008.

“Let’s just say that a family of four wants to go to the 400th anniversary of Quebec City,” he said, acknowledging this statement as an unabashed plug for next year’s series of events celebrating the occasion.

“But if they get the proper documents, it’s already an expenditure of $500, even that is in U.S. dollars," he added, taking a friendly swipe at the weakening dollar.

The alliance is comprised of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee in the Southeast, and the seven Canadian provinces of Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.