As if it isn’t bad enough that the Canadian dollar has more than reached parity with a real dollar, the Edmonton Journal today equated the entire situation in the American West with that of the Canadian West.

From the august periodical: Western premiers talk with increasing confidence these days about the rise of "the new West."

Their ascendancy is even more striking when compared to Central Canada, where a strong dollar, high energy prices and a slowing U.S. economy have helped to push its economy to the brink of recession.

But less well-known to Canadians is that a similar pattern is emerging in the United States. Western states are riding the same commodity price wave and are increasingly looking to influence the national debate, particularly on energy and climate change, which is becoming the country's top domestic issue.

Like Western Canada, the western states produce the bulk of their country's oil and gas.They also have green energy resources, including lots of wind, sun and in some cases hydro. Colorado, Utah and Wyoming have oil shale deposits similar to the oilsands that are undeveloped due to technical and environmental hurdles, but are under pressure to be exploited in the future.

So we have something in common. Everybody out west, Americans and Canadians alike, are alternatively enjoying and enduring sustained growth, especially when compared to other regions. And that’s not all: It turns out that virtually all the governors in U.S. western states are not only environmentalists and alternative energy enthusiasts, they’re also intent on working with their Canadian counterparts,as came to light at this year’s Western Governors' Association annual meeting in Jackson Hole. 

A prime example is Governor Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming, who is opposed to drilling for oil in theAlaska National Wildlife Refuge and along the continental shelf. The Democrat touts wind energy is the fastest-growing energy resource in his state, and promotes a diverse energy policy.

Another Democrat, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer,also urges action on every form of energy development, including wind, solar, coal, and nuclear. But one particular aspect of Schweitzer’s portfolio particularly interested the Edmonton Journal: Schweitzer emerged from the governors' meeting as one of Alberta's strongest allies on ramping up oil sands production.

But this was not an exclusively Democrat show. Jon Huntsman, the Republican Governor of Utah was second to no one in expecting that action would be taken, and the west would lead.  

"We have geography and numbers on our side," he said. "We are the most energy relevant region in the world when you take a slice of Western Canada right through the western United States. Who isn't going to listen to this part of the world speak out on energy issues?"

As they begin to develop their oil shale resources, Huntsman said they will be looking to Western Canada to provide technology, particularly in the areas of carbon capture and storage and clean coal.

Huntsman is already collaborating with a number of other western states and provinces on the western climate initiative, which is trying to establish a carbon trading market. It may not succeed without federal U.S. leadership, Huntsman said, but it needs to get started.

British Columbia is also part of the initiative. Premier Gordon Campbell told the governors they have an obligation to lead the world on climate change.

"I don't look at this as a challenge between the north side of the border and the south side of the border; this is a challenge for all of us. And there's no place that's better positioned in the world to take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of us as the United States and Canada, most specifically the western part of the United States and the western part of Canada," Campbell said."We should get used to leading."

The immediate and overwhelming demands of the growing energy crisis are creating new alliances, new alliances which can supersede old ties. Suffice it to say at this point, (eschewing, for a change, our usual blunt heavy-handed terms), is it so hard to imagine a day when Western Canada will be more a part of the Western United States than it is or ever will be with the rest of Canada? Which is more comprehensible, more reasonable, more useful, and more attractive to Western Canada – Phoenix or Quebec? 

That pull, that logic, will define what the Edmonton Journal referred to as "the new West."

It is only a matter of time, dear readers.