Montana

Natural beauty and resource wealth connect Montana and Canada

Montana sells virtually all of its exports of copper, light oil, barley and Portland cement to Canada. Indeed, Canada buys more from Montana than the state’s next six largest international trading partners combined.

Canada, in turn, helps sustain the state’s key industries. It is a vital foreign supplier of commodities, such as crude oil, natural gas, coal, fertilizer, softwood lumber and agricultural machinery.

Montana is also a popular destination for Canadian tourists, who come for its mountains, national parks and ski resorts. In 2020, Canadian visitors spent $17 million in the state.

Canadian-owned companies employed 1,500 workers in Montana in 2018. Among them are Waste Connections in Kalispell, ADF Group in Great Falls and WestJet.

What supporters are saying

“[USMCA] is a big win for our farmers, ranchers, and small businesses across Montana and the country. This deal provides certainty for Montana ag and protects critical access to our two biggest trading partners.”

Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), January 16, 2020

“Montanans know we need certainty and open markets to keep our ag producers thriving, so it’s critical we focus on expanding access around the world so Montanans have more avenues to turn a profit.”

Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), January 29, 2020

“[USMCA] gives our farmers some stability with two of our largest trading partners in the world. It will serve as a pathway to better markets, improved prices and act as a stepping stone for many more trade agreements in the future.”

Vince Mattson, past President of the Montana Grain Growers Association, January 29, 2020

Spotlight on Canadian business

Tapping Montana’s know-how to keep cross-border waterways clean

Vancouver-based Teck Resources, which operates steelmaking coalmines near the B.C.-Montana border, has been working with scientists at Montana State University to find new ways to treat mine-affected waterways. Teck has four mines in the Elk River Valley, which is roughly 120 miles north of Kalispell, MT. The mining process generates large quantities of waste rock that may contain naturally-occurring substances such as selenium and nitrate. High concentrations of these substances in the watershed can be a health and environmental concern.

For the past decade, Teck has been working with researchers at MSU and Bozman-based Enviromin Inc. on selenium and nitrate removal techniques. MSU chemical and biological engineering professor Brent Peyton has helped develop advances in remediation while serving as a member of a Teck panel on selenium management. Teck spends roughly $3 million a year in Montana on research, as well as other goods and services that support its steelmaking coal operations.

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