March 13, 2008 6:19AM

The Importance of Saskatchewan

By Alexis Glick

A couple of hours after yesterday’s show, I received an email from the Premier of Saskatchewan. I interviewed Premier Brad Wall earlier yesterday morning on Money for Breakfast about the country’s natural resources, its reaction to the threat by the Democratic candidates to invoke the six-month termination clause on NAFTA if the deal is not renegotiated and why he was down in Washington, D.C., meeting with some very powerful politicians including Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman.

Do you know where Saskatchewan is located?

It is in Canada and its southern border touches Montana and North Dakota.

Why is it well known?

It’s the world’s largest uranium producer and produces roughly 25% of the world’s uranium supply, which provides electricity to one out of every 15 American homes.

It is also the Country’s second-largest oil producer and the United States’ largest and most stable supplier of oil and natural gas. It produces more oil a day than Kuwait and 62% of its exports go to the U.S.

Why do you care?

Aside from the risk of a global oil shortage, it is one of our major NAFTA partners.

Just after our interview I asked him if Canada was responsible for the loss of American jobs. He said the vast majority of jobs in his country and ours are going to Asia. Here are some quick statistics that he sent over.

From 1993-2006, U.S. merchandise exports to Canada and Mexico grew more rapidly — at 157% — than its exports to the rest of the world, at 108%.

Canada and Mexico are the first and second largest export markets of U.S. goods accounting for 35% of total U.S. exports.

The U.S. government estimates that an average family of four has earned $350 to $930 in annual benefits both from an increase in national income as well as reduction in taxes resulting from NAFTA.