Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says while she doesn’t want to assume anything after her meeting with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence over the weekend, Canada needs “to be prepared” that threatened tariffs are on the way.
Smith warned of national unity crisis if Ottawa considers energy export restrictions
Joel Dryden · CBC News
·
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says while she doesn’t want to assume anything after her meeting with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence over the weekend, Canada needs “to be prepared” that threatened tariffs are on the way.
Smith met with the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday evening, and again at his golf club on Sunday morning. She was a guest of Canadian celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary.
O’Leary is proposing a massive AI data centre in northern Alberta. He recently expressed support for the idea of an economic union between Canada and the United States.
On Monday, Smith told reporters she had a “friendly conversation” with Trump.
“And I thought quite constructive, in which I emphasized the mutual importance of the U.S.-Canada relationship,” Smith said, adding she was also able to speak with members of the incoming U.S. administration.
Trump has said he would impose 25 per cent tariffs if Canada and Mexico don’t enact measures to tackle illegal immigration and drug smuggling into the United States.
When asked by reporters whether she was able to obtain any assurances from the president-elect on the tariffs, Smith said Canadians should be prepared for them to come into effect on Jan. 20.
WATCH |Â Alberta premier has seen no indication Trump will change his tariff approach:
Alberta premier has seen no indication Trump will change his tariff approach
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who spoke with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump in Florida, says she doesn’t want to prejudge what will happen around tariffs, but says she’s seen no indication Trump is ‘inclined to change his approach.’
She added that Trump’s biggest irritant is what he calls the United States’ “trade deficit” with Canada, something Smith doesn’t believe exists.
“I understand, from reading the papers, there’s 100 executive orders coming in there … I haven’t seen anything that suggests he’s changing course,” she said.
“Our job is going to be to work overtime to make sure … that we can make the case for carve-outs.”
WATCH |Â Is Trump right about the U.S. subsidizing Canada?:
Is Trump right about the U.S. ‘subsidizing’ Canada? | About That
Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed the United States is ‘subsidizing’ Canada ‘to the tune of $100B.’ Where does that number come from? And is Canada really getting a free ride from the U.S.? Andrew Chang dives into the math, the money and the politics of the Canada-U.S. trade relationship to uncover how much — if any — of what Trump says is actually true.
Images gathered from Reuters, Getty Images, and The Canadian Press.
Should a 25 per cent tariff be implemented on Canadian goods, Smith said there would need to be a Canadian response.Â
“Let’s be frank about that … if we put across the board 25 per cent tariffs in place on American goods, that makes the cost of everything for Canadians more expensive,” Smith said.Â
“This is why tariff wars are so painful, is that you end up hurting yourself in trying to retaliate. And so we have to be very thoughtful about how we go about doing that.”
Restricting energy exports
Smith was also asked about Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly’s appearance on CTV’s Question Period on Sunday morning, in which Joly said “everything” was on the table when asked about restricting energy exports to the U.S.
“That’s the conversation we will have, the prime minister, [Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc] and myself with the premiers next week, and that’s a conversation also I’ll take to Republican senators and key Republican decision makers in Washington next week,” Joly said.
“It is important to understand that the threat is real and we’re acting on it.”
Joly told CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live on Sunday that Ottawa was pursuing a strategy to engage the incoming U.S. administration, while working on a retaliation plan at the same time.
The premier said restricting energy exports would provoke a “national unity crisis.”
“We just won’t stand for that,” she said.
Communication strategy
Lisa Young, a University of Calgary political scientist, said Smith has been a very effective communicator to the United States by appearing on Fox News, and also by communicating with governors of key states.
“She’s clearly made it her highest priority to try and do something to stop the tariffs,” Young told the Calgary Eyeopener.
At the same time, there are risks involved, Young said.
“She’s going solo there. She’s not part of a ‘Team Canada’ effort. If she is negotiating for some kind of a carve-out for oil and gas, does that affect the broader Canadian stance of trying to not have the tariffs on other goods imposed?” Young said. “Where is she locating herself relative to other Canadian efforts?”
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi wrote in a social media post Monday that it remains to be seen whether Smith’s attempt at diplomacy will be successful, adding “as Albertans, we certainly hope it will be.”
“The danger in freelancing is that Alberta becomes isolated, irrelevant, or, worse, used as a pawn in a bigger game. Only by working together can we ensure Albertan and Canadian interests are protected,” Nenshi wrote.
Smith said there was no payment required for access to the president-elect. She added she will be attending Trump’s inauguration next week.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joel is a reporter/editor with CBC Calgary. In fall 2021, he spent time with CBC’s bureau in Lethbridge. He was previously the editor of the Airdrie City View and Rocky View Weekly newspapers. He hails from Swift Current, Sask. Reach him by email at joel.dryden@cbc.ca
With files from Jim Brown and The Canadian Press
