Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she is optimistic since U.S. President Donald Trump has not imposed prices on Canadian imports from the first day of his presidency, Canada will find options to conclude an agreement with its southern neighbor.
“I’m optimistic,” Smith told reporters in a video conference from Washington, D.C., Tuesday morning. “I think there’s a deal to be made here.
“My interpretation of the president is that he likes to win, so it’s up to us to demonstrate how we can get a double victory here. I think it’s a double victory to sell more to the United States, to buy more from the United States and to have a common energy security strategy that leads to a national and international security strategy.
Weeks before his inauguration, Trump threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods – citing what he sees as a trade deficit with Canada – and suggested he might be in Canada’s interest in becoming the 51st state of the United States. He also expressed concern about what he believes are large quantities of fentanyl and undocumented people entering the United States from Canada.
Fearing that Trump would impose crippling tariffs on Canada on his first day in the White House, Canada’s federal and provincial lawmakers came together to find an answer. By signing executive orders on Monday, Trump revealed that his administration could move forward with these tariffs on February 1.
“We’re happy to see that Canada got a reprieve from day one on tariffs,” said Smith, who was in Washington to lobby U.S. lawmakers to try to avoid the tariffs. imposition of tariffs, particularly on Alberta oil and gas.
“We have a short window to demonstrate the very positive tariff-free relationship between Canada and the United States and why it should remain tariff-free. »
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Smith also noted that Trump signed an executive order on Monday for U.S. federal agencies to study trade issues and deliver a report to his administration on April 1.
“We believe our best approach now would be to focus on diplomacy and refrain from talking about any form of threat of tariff retaliation,” she said. “We think we have a very positive story to tell in Canada. We believe we should consider how to reduce the trade deficit by seeking to increase cross-border trade in goods and services.
“What I’m saying is that if you take energy out of the mix, Canada actually buys more goods and services than Americans buy from us. »
On Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that if Trump imposed tariffs, he supports “the principle of dollar-for-dollar equivalent customs tariffs”.
Last week, Smith refused to sign a joint statement with Trudeau and other prime ministers calling for every possible countermeasure to be proposed to combat the tariffs.
Some Canadian lawmakers have accused Smith of being too focused on carve-out attempts for Alberta’s natural resources, but on Tuesday the premier said she was seeking a carve-out for Canada as a whole.
“I may take a little different approach than my counterparts, but I think this approach will be successful,” she said, adding that she believed Trump’s stated goal, that the United States is moving toward energy dominance, is something Canada should consider helping. achieve because it could be in Canada’s national interest.
Smith noted that since there is still no firm date on when or if the tariffs will be imposed, it is important to think before reacting.
“Until we see what that looks like, I don’t think we can really know what the Canadian response will be,” she said.
On Monday, Trump said he would declare a national energy emergency in the United States in an effort to lower gas prices for American consumers and export more American energy.
“I believe the Americans can’t do this without Canada,” Smith said Tuesday. “The Americans consume 21 million barrels of oil a day, they produce 13 million a day and they have to find the rest somewhere.”
Smith said she believes Canada can win favor with the Trump administration by continuing to take steps to address U.S. concerns about border security and ensuring Canada meets its commitments to NATO in terms of defense spending. She also called on the Trudeau government to repeal environmental policies like clean electricity regulations and the federal emissions cap.
Before Trump’s inauguration, Smith traveled to the president’s home in Florida to advocate for Alberta in response to tariff threats.
“The administration knows who Alberta is,” she said. “They know we have a lot of oil and gas.”
Smith wants pipeline projects revisited
Smith explained that she would like to see conversations resume regarding the previously proposed project. Northern Gateway Pipeline and the Energy East pipeline as a way to help Alberta move its oil more easily to international markets and elsewhere in Canada.
Later Tuesday, the president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs said he believes the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, which would connect Alberta to the Pacific Ocean, should be reconsidered.
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip said that while he previously “really fought” against the construction of Northern Gateway, it was a “different time” and Canada now had “no choice” but to reconsider his decision, adding that he feared that if Canada didn’t “build this kind of infrastructure, the Trump administration will,” and may do so without “any consideration for the environment or the rule of law.”
Smith said that with Trump returning to the White House, some in the oil and gas industry may “dust off old plans” regarding energy infrastructure that had been previously proposed but never built.
During her call with reporters, Smith reiterated her previous position that she hopes a federal election will be called in Canada as soon as possible. She said with Trudeau set to leave office once his Liberal party chooses a new leader, he will not have the strong mandate that would be useful in negotiations with the United States.
–with files from Kelly Geraldine Malone, Chuck Chiang and Lisa Johnson of The Canadian Press
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