Montana Senate candidate, Alani Bankhead. -image via https://alaniformt.com/
REGINA — A Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Montana says Washington should be strengthening energy trade with Canada rather than turning to Russian fuel, arguing Canada offers the United States a stable, longstanding and strategically reliable partner.
Alani Bankhead, who is running for the U.S. Senate in Montana, criticized the Trump administration’s decision to waive sanctions allowing Russian diesel imports while trade tensions continue with Canada.
Asked how she viewed bringing Russian fuel into the United States while Canadian energy supplies are available across the border, Bankhead was blunt.
“Corruption,” she said.
Bankhead said Montanans are frustrated the United States is importing Russian fuel rather than maintaining established trade relationships with Canada and other allies.
“We should be working with our allies, not with our enemies,” she said.
Bankhead, who has more than two decades of experience with the U.S. Air Force and federal government, also argued the issue goes beyond economics.
She said energy supply chains involving fuel and electricity are part of critical infrastructure, and becoming too dependent on countries hostile to the United States can create national security vulnerabilities.
“100 percent it is a national security vulnerability,” Bankhead said.
She contrasted Russia with Canada, describing the relationship between the two countries as one built over generations of trade, shared interests and cross-border communities.
Bankhead said Canada has long been a trusted partner for the United States and argued the two countries should return to more normal trading relations.
“We want to buy local and we want to buy with people who embody our values,” she said. “And Canada has been that for us for a really, really long time.”
She said Montana and the Prairie provinces share similar economic foundations, particularly in agriculture and energy, along with rural communities and deeply interconnected cross-border economies.
Bankhead said the trade dispute is straining those relationships at a time when households and businesses are already dealing with higher costs.
She said affordability, the economy and the trade war are among the issues she is hearing most often from voters across Montana.
Bankhead also praised Canada as a dependable international partner, saying the relationship has historically produced benefits for people on both sides of the border.
She said restoring more normal trade with Canada would be among her priorities if elected, particularly as energy costs remain high.
Bankhead said Canada’s stability and longstanding economic relationship with the United States make it a natural partner for energy trade rather than relying on countries whose strategic interests may conflict with those of the United States.
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