April 17, 2026
A vision for North America beyond CUSMA focus for NNAI Washington trip
At the center point of a week-long trip to brief stakeholders and policy makers in Washington D.C. School of Public Policy鈥檚 New North America Initiative convened a workshop briefing entitled Beyond USMCA: A New Vision of North America. Methodology, Polling & Research.
The workshop, conducted with U.S. and Canadian partners, had over 50 participants from think tanks, foreign, U.S. and provincial government officials and media in Washington D.C., in March.
The workshop was organized by the New North America Initiative (NNAI) at the School of Public Policy, working with the Centre for Canadian Studies, at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.
The U.S. and Canadian partners presenting at the workshop included Carlo Dade, Director of the New North America Initiative, Dr. Christopher Sands of the Centre for Canadian Studies at Johns Hopkins, Salman Ahmed of Rand Corp. and formerly director of the Foreign Policy for the Middle Class Project at the Carnegie Endowment, Alec Tyson of the Know the New U.S. Project at Ipsos, Dr. Richard Wobbekind, Senior Associate Dean of Academic Programs, Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado, Nik Nanos of Nanos Research and Farhaan Ladhani of Goodbit.
The workshop briefing presented an in-depth discussion of the new grassroots research methodology being pioneered by the NNAI and shared initial test findings of the methodology as well as the vision to create a new shared agenda for cooperation.
Beyond the conference, NNAI engaged with U.S. policymakers in D.C, including meetings with officials at the U.S. Department of State and the Office of the United States Trade Representative to ensure NNAI鈥檚 work is visible to key decision-makers.
A focal point of the meetings was to share NNAI research, including the recent provincial-level analysis of Section 232 tariff impacts in Canada. The reaction to Section 232 indicated that this was the first time the information was seen by recipients.
The delegation also attended the Brookings Institution鈥檚 USMCA Forward 2026 launch and participated in a panel on the impact of China in the upcoming CUSMA review at a Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies USMCA Conference with other think tanks, scholars, and experts on North America.
Discussions in Washington also forged partnerships and structured NNAI鈥檚 forthcoming work on quantitative and qualitative scenario-building for the upcoming CUSMA review.
The New North America Initiative (NNAI) is a forward-looking rethink and reenvisioning of what is possible for our shared continent. The NNAI is a groundbreaking multi-year research, training and convening initiative focused on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico relationship.
We work with emerging and established researchers from post-secondary institutions, public policy think tanks, businesses, civic associations, public opinion research firms and students throughout the continent. We apply new approaches to move beyond traditional thinking and centres of policy making to create a vision for our shared continent and the means to achieve it. Housed at the School of Public Policy at the University of 不良研究所, the NNAI is funded by a grant from the Government of Alberta.