Innovation for Impact: Recapping the 2024 PNWER Annual Summit

The 2024 Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) Annual Summit gathered over 600 delegates from the U.S. and Canada to explore opportunities for the Pacific Northwest states, provinces and territories to work together to address challenges and achieve common goals. The five-day event, held in Whistler, British Columbia, provided a dynamic platform for cross-border collaboration, empowering PNWER’s 10 jurisdictions to exchange lessons learned, build stronger partnerships, and work together to ensure regional growth and prosperity.

“PNWER provides a critical forum for legislators and leaders from the public and private sectors to collaborate to strengthen Canada-U.S. relations,” Tamara Vrooman, President & CEO, VYR, and Co-Chair, PNWER Annual Summit, said. “​I commend PNWER for a successful Annual Summit and congratulate Washington State Representative Cindy Ryu on her election as the new President. I am confident the conversations from this important event will lead to meaningful action that will create greater prosperity for businesses and communities in the Pacific Northwest.”

Summit Attendees by the Numbers

The 2024 PNWER Annual Summit convened a total of 602 public- and private-sector delegates, including:

• 381 Canadians

• 221 Americans

• 247 CEOs, vice presidents, directors and chairs

• 66 state, provincial and territorial legislators and ministers

• 29 municipalities

• 18 Federal Members of Parliament, Canadian senators and federal ministers

• 16 First Nations and Indigenous Tribes and communities

• 7 mayors
  

Key Themes & Outcomes

The 2024 Annual Summit explored the theme of clean energy and innovation advancing our regional economy. Expert panels and roundtable discussions covered a wide range of topics critical to the prosperity of the Pacific Northwest, including clean energy, cross-border trade, transportation, housing and tourism, among others.

Although this year’s summit featured numerous significant discussions, the following key highlights offer a glimpse into some the impactful cross-border and cross-sectoral conversations:

• Maintaining a Strong U.S. - Canada Partnership: The U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen and Canada’s Minister Mary Ng opened the conference with a discussion on how the U.S. and Canada are working together to address global challenges and promote mutual prosperity. BC Premier David Eby provided the summit’s keynote address, a valuable perspective on British Columbia’s priorities for advancing cooperation and innovation across borders.

• Clean Energy: Policymakers and energy leaders joined in discussions about our current energy landscape and what it will take to achieve the energy transition, including with the buildout of the hydrogen economy.

  • Outcome: During his remarks about the hydrogen economy, BC Premier David Eby announced a new-cross border hydrogen analysis led by PNWER, the BC Clean Energy and Major Projects Office and the Washington State Department of Commerce. Read more about this innovative study here.

• FIFA 2026: The Pacific Northwest region is gearing up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will feature 13 games in Seattle, WA and Vancouver, BC. PNWER’s new Regional Tourism Council, which is composed of government and industry leaders, held a listening session at the summit to discuss how our region can collaborate on sustainable tourism dispersion, management of tourism transportation, workforce challenges, mitigation of the impacts of tourism on the climate and contributions to the efficient operation of our international border.

• Reshaping Transportation Networks: Policymakers and transportation industry leaders discussed the decarbonization of our region’s supply chains, opportunities for investment in sustainable infrastructure and the expansion of passenger rail services in the U.S. and Canada in preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and beyond.

• Addressing Invasive Species: Invasive quagga and zebra mussels remain an acute threat to the Pacific Northwest economy and environment. U.S. and Canada policymakers and department of fish and wildlife leaders showcased the multifaceted approach taken by government, industry, First Nations and Tribes to increase prevention, early detection, rapid response readiness and collaboration across the 10 PNWER jurisdictions.

  • Outcome: The PNWER Executive Board unanimously passed an action item enabling the PNWER Secretariat to seek funding from federal and non-federal sources for enhanced regional Northwest transboundary zebra and quagga mussel prevention and response readiness.

• Harnessing Critical Minerals: Energy and resource leaders from throughout the region discussed how harnessing minerals can serve as a catalyst for holistic nation-building, promoting economic prosperity, environmental stewardship, and social equity in the Pacific Northwest.

  • Outcome: The PNWER Executive Board agreed to seek funding in Canada and the U.S. for a comprehensive cross-border study to examine the opportunities, challenges and gaps for securing and permitting, as feasible, a critical mineral supply chain.

PNWER Delegate Council Elects New Officers

On July 21, the PNWER Delegate Council elected three new leaders – one president and two vice presidents – to serve as PNWER officers. This group, which includes Canadian and U.S. representatives, helps to achieve the PNWER mission of regional cooperation, understanding and growth.

The Council elected Washington State Representative Cindy Ryu as the new PNWER President. During her one-year term, Representative Ryu will work to foster cross-border collaboration and ensure the Washington state government remains an engaged partner on important regional issues.

The Delegate Council elected Saskatchewan MLA Travis Keisig to serve as Canadian Vice President, and Idaho State Representative Britt Raybould to serve as U.S. Vice President. MLA Keisig and Rep. Raybould will join Rep. Ryu, Hon. Sandy Silver (Yukon) and Rep. DeLena Johnson (Alaska) on the Executive Council for a multi-year term.

From left: Rep. Cindy Ryu, MLA Travis Keisig, Rep. Britt Raybould

Participant Appreciation

We’d like to extend our sincere gratitude to attendees of this year’s PNWER Annual Summit. Your contributions were invaluable in fostering meaningful cross-border engagement and advancing regional priorities. PNWER is a public-private partnership, and our success comes from the active engagement of public- and private-sector stakeholders. We look forward to continuing the important dialogue and work done during the Whistler, BC, Annual Summit, and we hope you’ll join us at our Economic Leadership Forum in Anchorage, AK, in November, and our 2025 Annual Summit in Bellevue, WA, in July 2025.

Annual Summit Resources

Summit resources, including session recordings, proceedings, videos, photos, and news coverage, will be available at www.pnwer.org/2024-summit. We also hope you can take a few minutes to provide feedback on your experience during this brief survey.

Thank You, Sponsors!

We’d like to thank our sponsors for their generous support in helping to make the PNWER Annual Summit a success. These ongoing partnerships are critical in PNWER’s mission to enhance cross-border collaboration and regional prosperity.