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  • Home
  • Webinars
    • Past Webinars
    • COVID-19 Recovery Call
  • Our Work
    • PNWER at Work
    • Working Groups >
      • Agriculture
      • Arctic Caucus
      • Border Issues
      • Cross Border Livestock Health
      • Economic Development
      • Energy I
      • Energy and Environment
      • Forestry
      • Infrastructure Finance
      • Innovation
      • Invasive Species
      • Mining
      • Tourism >
        • Regional Tourism Resources
        • Regional Tourism Rebound
      • Transportation
      • Water Policy
      • Workforce Development
    • Center for Regional Disaster Resilience
    • Beyond Preclearance/ Future Borders
    • USMCA Ratification & Tariffs
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • 2021 Summit
    • 2020 Economic Leadership Forum-Rising Economy Week
    • Past Events >
      • 2019 Economic Leadership Forum
      • 2019 Summit
  • Energy Institute
  • About Us
    • Governance Structure
    • History
    • Accomplishments
    • Jobs + Internships
    • PNWER Staff
  • Sponsorship
    • Current Sponsors
  • Resources
    • Action Items
    • Annual Reports
    • Capital Visits
    • Leadership Awards
    • Low Energy Buildings
    • Presentations
    • Links
    • News >
      • Blog
      • Newsletter Archives
      • Media

History

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In 1988, the Pacific NorthWest Legislative Leadership Forum (PNLLF) was formed which was the precursor of PNWER. Leaders from the legislatures of the original 7 jurisdictions designed the organization to be statutory, and enabling legislation was drawn up. PNWER was established in 1991 by statute in the organization´s original seven jurisdictions – Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska in the United States, and British Columbia and Alberta in Canada. The proposal establishing PNWER passed with 701 out of 703 sitting legislators voting for the enabling legislation during the 1991 sessions.

Canada´s Yukon Territory joined PNWER in 1994. In 2008, the PNWER Executive Board voted to have Saskatchewan join PNWER, and in 2009 the PNWER Executive Board voted unanimously to admit the Northwest Territories into PNWER as well, making five Canadian jurisdictions and five American states.

The original vision of establishing a collaborative region-wide organization to address common issues and interests was that of former State Sen. Alan Bluechel, Wash. Bluechel grew up in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan and came to the Legislature with a keen sense of the bi-national region now encompassed by PNWER; he was aided in the pursuit of his vision by counterpart Jim Horseman, then Deputy Premier and Minister of Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs for Alberta. Bluechel served as PNWER's first president.

From the beginning, all state and provincial legislators were members of PNWER. The governors and premiers were added to the PNWER governance structure in 1993.

PNWER incorporated official private sector participation – including the non-elective public sector, and nonprofit organizations and NGOs in 1994; with that, a private sector council mirroring that of the organization´s legislative delegate council was established and private and public sector co-chairs became part of the working group structure. Since then, funding for PNWER has been balanced by the public and private sector. The organization is primarily funded through three sources, with approximately one third coming from state and provincial dues, one third from private sector sponsorship and dues, and one third from public and private grants.


Founding Leaders

The late Senator Alan Bluechel, President of the Washington State Senate 
Hon. Jim Horsman, former Deputy Premier, Alberta
Governance Structure
Accomplishments
PNWER Staff
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Phone: (206) 443-7723 
Fax: (206) 443-7703
Email: info@pnwer.org
World Trade Center West
2200 Alaskan Way, Suite 460
Seattle, WA 98121