After a two-year hiatus, the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers (NEG/ECP) met virtually on May 17 to build on their relationship, and they discussed COVID-19 and economic recovery, climate change, and U.S. Canada relations.
A major topic of discussion among Governors and Premiers was coordination on vaccine supply in the region. They agreed to write a letter inquiring about the transfer of surplus vaccinations from the states to the provinces as soon as possible to help expedite reopening their borders. A copy of the letter is available here.
The NEG/ECP has a long, successful history of working together to promote shared cross-border priorities and their closely integrated economies.
In September 2019, Hurricane Dorian swept up the Atlantic over the course of ten days, completing its intense path with landfall over Nova Scotia and Eastern Canada. While Dorian was a near miss for New England, it was the most powerful Atlantic hurricane on record, outside of the Caribbean Sea. Dorian cancelled the New Brunswick conference and serves as a powerful reminder the impact climate change inflicts upon our shared North Atlantic region.
In 2020, Governor Lamont was looking forward to hosting everyone in Connecticut, but clearly state and provincial governments all had more pressing matters across the communities and people they serve in responding to COVID-19, so that conference too was cancelled.
