As a possible Feb. 1 deadline looms for the United States to impose punishing tariffs on Canadian goods, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she's sticking to her diplomatic approach to try to stop them.
Smith, in a virtual news conference from Washington on Tuesday, said Alberta will have to "wait and see" what the tariffs look like before laying out a response.
"I don't think that there's much point in trying to negotiate this in public with the media,” said Smith, who is in the U.S. capital to talk with lawmakers.
“It's far more important for us to be thoughtful about it, to see what actually comes through, and then to be able to take a proportionate response.”
She said Trump remains unpredictable.
"We don't know when it's coming in," she said.
“So until we see what it looks like, I don't think we can really know what the Canadian response is going to be."
Trump said late Monday, hours after being sworn in as president, that he is thinking of instituting 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods starting Feb. 1.
He had previously said the tariffs could come on his first day in office.
Also Monday, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to study trade issues — including alleged unfair practices by Canada, Mexico and China — with an April 1 deadline.
Smith said Canada must refrain from making retaliatory threats, because she doesn't think the U.S. president "responds well" to them, but that Trump is "enthusiastic" about tariffs as a revenue source.
She said she sees the reprieve as an opportunity to continue to make the friendly case to keep tariffs off the table.
"If (Trump) wants more energy security, then you should be talking about how you can provide energy security, not making the conversation about energy security undermined."
With Trump's vocal support of petroleum production, Smith said pipeline companies are "dusting off old plans" that may have been shelved during the previous U.S. administration.
Smith has pursued diplomacy to address Trump’s main irritants. Trump has pointed to Canada's border security, military spending and trade imbalance — things Smith says can and should be rectified.
Trump has also presented the economic measures as a way to squeeze Canada and make it more amenable to being annexed by the U.S.
Smith visited Trump at his Florida home earlier this month to make the case for unencumbered cross-border trade and is in Washington this week to tout cross-border energy to U.S. officials and lawmakers.
She has broken ranks with her fellow premiers by dismissing talk of retaliatory threats, including a counter-tariff on Alberta's oil and gas shipments.
That approach has come under fire from critics who say it undermines Canada's negotiating position and that a more confrontational approach is needed to counter an existential threat to Canada’s sovereignty.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated Tuesday that if Trump moves on tariffs, Canada will respond and “everything is on the table.”
After Smith refused to sign a joint communique from her provincial counterparts last week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Canada needs to fight American threats with a united approach.
"In a card game, you don’t show your opposition your cards," he said.
Smith pushed back at Ford in an interview with the CBC on Monday, saying she would never advocate cutting off auto exports from Ontario, or aluminum exports from Quebec.
“It hurt me that they felt that they could make that same argument, that Alberta should sacrifice our interests in order to try to advance some kind of trade war,” she said.
Smith got some political help from an unexpected ally Tuesday. Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said it would be “absurd” to cut energy exports.
Smith rejected a suggestion that her approach was all for naught. She said if there's any blame, it's on Trudeau for failing to build bridges with Trump.
"All I can do is try to repair and build relationships that should have been repaired and built over the last four years," she said.
Smith said she's counting down the days until Trudeau resigns, opening the door to a new federal Liberal leader who would likely have to face a quick general election.
The Liberals are set to pick a new leader March 9.
Smith said it's up to premiers to maintain good relationships with the U.S. while that leadership question is settled and that federal ministers appear to be consistently working to build relationships.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2025.
Comments
And Smith and PP call Trudeau a traitor,,!