By Julie Barrett | Conservative Ladies of America
A renewed and expanded cross-border agreement, first launched in 2016 between Washington and British Columbia, now brings Oregon into the Cascadia Innovation Corridor partnership.
At first glance, it sounds like simple cooperation for the good of the Pacific Northwest. But beneath the surface lies something far more ambitious and potentially far more concerning: a regional governance model that quietly blurs the line between American state sovereignty and international policymaking.
Leaders from all three governments recently signed a Memorandum of Reaffirmation expanding the Cascadia Innovation Corridor, an alliance originally created between Washington and British Columbia in 2016 and 2018, now officially joined by Oregon.
The pact commits all three to coordinate on:
- Housing affordability and “sustainable growth”
- Clean-energy and climate goals
- Transportation connectivity — including high-speed rail
- Innovation and AI collaboration
It’s strategic messaging to sound like progress until you realize these are the same policy priorities used worldwide to justify regional integration that sidelines local decision-making.
The Cascadia Model: A “Mini-EU” for the Pacific Northwest
The Cascadia Innovation Corridor isn’t new. For nearly a decade, political and corporate leaders, including former Washington Governor Chris Gregoire and Microsoft executives, have promoted the idea of an integrated “mega-region” uniting Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland.
Their goal? To “advance data analytics, artificial intelligence, and advanced computing” while harmonizing policy on housing, climate, and infrastructure.
In practice, that means aligning laws and spending priorities across an international boundary, without federal oversight or citizen approval. It’s cooperation that bypasses the normal checks of representative government.
Housing: The Trojan Horse
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek described the partnership as a way to “strengthen our ability to expand housing supply and create more jobs.”
That fits with Oregon’s recent housing agenda, a series of bills (HB 2138, HB 3031, HB 2258, and others) that loosen local zoning laws, mandate denser development, and funnel more than $1 billion into state-directed housing programs.
When these same policies are folded into a regional framework, they can easily evolve into cross-border housing mandates tied to climate goals and density quotas, exactly the kind of one-size-fits-all planning that erodes local control.
Connectivity: The High-Speed Rail Hook
The “connectivity” language in the Cascadia agreement ties directly to the Cascadia High-Speed Rail project, which already received a $49.7 million federal grant for planning from the Federal Railroad Administration. In addition, Washington state has contributed millions in state matching funds and previously allocated larger sums toward the project’s development.
Supporters tout the rail as climate-friendly transportation, but in the broader Cascadia vision, it’s about integrating major urban centers into a single economic corridor, managed through regional councils rather than local representatives. Rail, housing, and climate goals are all moving together, creating the physical, economic, and regulatory infrastructure of a unified region.
Innovation & AI: The Digital Layer
Another key piece of the new agreement is collaboration on data analytics, artificial intelligence, and advanced computing.
That means deeper partnerships between government and large technology firms on data systems that cross both state and national lines.
The questions practically ask themselves: Who owns that data? Who regulates AI when it crosses borders? And who represents the citizens whose information is being shared?
Follow the Money, Not the Messaging
Every official statement uses the same language: shared values, affordability, sustainability, progress.
While those phrases sound positive, they mask a top-down regional agenda that centralizes planning power and gives multinational corporations enormous influence.
When ordinary people hear “affordable housing,” they think of help for families. When global investors hear it, they see government-backed development projects tied to climate and technology benchmarks.
The Cascadia Memorandum isn’t technically a treaty, but it functions like one. It binds two U.S. states and a Canadian province to joint policy commitments, without a single vote in Congress or clear accountability to local taxpayers.
That should concern anyone who values federalism, state sovereignty, and community self-governance.
The Bottom Line
The Cascadia Innovation Corridor may be branded as “collaboration,” but it’s really a quiet move toward regional governance — a system where unelected councils and corporate partners shape the future of our housing, energy, and digital infrastructure.
Citizens deserve transparency before our region becomes a testing ground for global policy experiments. Because cooperation is healthy — but collaboration without consent is control.
Julie Barrett is the founder and president of Conservative Ladies of America, a grassroots 501c4 organization dedicated to educating, equipping, and empowering citizens to engage in policy and advocacy that defends faith, family, and freedom.
Help Us Defend Faith, Family & Freedom
Conservative Ladies of America is a grassroots movement powered by citizens and families who believe in faith, freedom, and the Constitution. We don’t answer to big donors or party machines — we answer to YOU.
If you believe parents — not politicians — should decide what’s best for their kids, will you stand with us?
Your gift helps us educate citizens, track legislation, and hold elected officials accountable so we can keep building a movement that’s fearless, informed, and free.