Western and Québec celebrate 10-year partnership

Western Washington University’s Center for Canadian-American Studies welcomed Alain Houde, a Québec government representative from Los Angeles, and Frédéric Tremblay, director for governmental relations and public affairs in the Québec government office in L.A., to campus on April 30.

Houde offered a presentation titled “Climate Change in North America: A Québec View.” The presentation was followed by a reception in celebration of the 10-year partnership between the Government of Québec and Western’s Center for Canadian-American Studies.

With the assistance of the Government of Québec, Western’s Center for Canadian-American Studies has brought a Québec scholar to campus each spring to research and teach on Québec issues and Québec-U.S. relations. 

The 2013 visiting Québec scholar is Julie Dufort, a Ph.D. candidate in political science and a research fellow at the Center for United States Studies at the Raoul Dandurand Chair of Strategic and Diplomatic Studies at the University of Québec at Montréal.

In his remarks, Houde noted that Washington state and Québec have much in common, including large aerospace and hydropower industries and commitments at the top levels of government leadership to combat climate change.

Western’s President Bruce Shepard was in attendance and thanked the people of Québec for their support. He also conveyed his hopes that the partnership will continue for many more years.