Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, fresh off a weekend visit with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, cautioned Ottawa against blocking energy exports to the U.S. in response to Trump’s tariff threat on Monday — but Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he wants to keep the option open.
“Oil and gas is owned by the provinces, principally Alberta, and we won’t stand for that,” Smith told reporters in a virtual news conference.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, meanwhile, said Monday he wants to see Canada block exports to the United States of critical minerals like aluminum, lithium and potash in response to the tariff threat.
“So if (Trump) wants to pick a fight with Canada, we have to make sure it’s clear that it’s going to hurt Americans as well,” Singh told a news conference in Ottawa.
Ford said that while an embargo on energy and critical mineral exports to the U.S. is the last thing he wants to see, Canada shouldn’t rule out any means to inflict economic pain on the U.S. if the tariff dispute escalates.
Canada’s critical minerals exports to the United States were valued at nearly $30 billion in 2023. That’s nearly 60 per cent of the value of all Canadian critical mineral exports.
“I want to ship them more critical minerals. I want to ship them more energy,” Ford said.
“But make no mistake about it. If they’re coming full-tilt at us, I won’t hesitate to pull out every single tool we have until they can feel the pain. But that’s the last thing I want to do.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly hasn’t ruled out an energy embargo in response to Trump’s promise to impose punishing 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian products.
Smith said the federal government shouldn’t be making “empty threats,” and it’s not Joly’s call to make. She said cutting off pipeline supplies through Michigan would choke key supplies to Ontario and Quebec as well.
If Ottawa moves to cut off energy exports, Smith said, “they will have a national unity crisis on their hands at the same time as having a crisis with our U.S. trade partners.”
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe also pushed back on the idea of restricting Canadian energy and agricultural exports to the United States.
“That would be the most divisive conversation and most divisive situation that we would find ourselves in Canada,” Moe told CBC’s Power and Politics.
“I’ve asked the federal government very directly and they’ve assured me that (restrictions) isn’t part of the conversation, and I would say that (restrictions) can’t be moving forward if we truly value Canadian unity.”
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Alberta’s premier said Canada needs to be prepared for the tariffs to come into effect on Jan. 20, Trump’s first day in office.
“I haven’t seen any indication in any of the president’s public commentary, or even in the comments that he had with me, that he’s inclined to change his approach,” she said.
Singh argued that the fact Trump still intends to implement broad-based tariffs after he and members of his administration met with Joly, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc shows he can’t be reasoned with.
“Donald Trump is not rational. You can’t discuss a plan over a meal with him. He is a bully. And bullies understand one thing … that is strength. They also understand pain,” Singh said.
Canada is a primary exporter to the U.S. for several critical minerals, including graphite, potash and zinc.
The U.S. imports all of its graphite, which is used in manufacturing a wide range of products, from pencils to nuclear reactors. China, Mexico and Madagascar are the other major suppliers of graphite to the U.S. market.
Over the weekend, Joly said Canadians need to “be ready” for economic threats, adding all leaders need to put Canada first and show a united front.
“We have to be very realistic, very pragmatic, and we have to be ready, because something we can’t do is not to take president-elect Trump at his word. Because when he says something, he usually does it,” Joly said Sunday on CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live.
She said Ottawa is pursuing a strategy to engage the incoming U.S. administration through measures that include a new border plan, developing military alliances and co-operating on energy issues.
“And at the same time, we’re working on a retaliation plan,” said Joly.
“I can’t go into the details of that retaliation plan, because I think it would be a bad strategy. But what I can tell you is everything is on the table.”
Smith visited Trump at his Florida home over the weekend as a guest of Canadian businessman and television personality Kevin O’Leary.
O’Leary has suggested that it would benefit Canada to combine its economy with that of the U.S. and “erase the border” separating the two countries.
Smith will be attending Trump’s inauguration next week.
She has been on a diplomatic offensive of late, meeting with American elected officials and appearing on news broadcasts south of the border. She has argued the tariffs would harm both Canadian and American consumers, particularly through higher gas prices.
Smith said Monday the incoming president’s biggest source of irritation is the trade imbalance with Canada. She said she expects Trump’s promised tariffs to remain in effect until the imbalance is resolved.
“I think the solution is that we find ways to buy more American goods and that seems to me to be the very logical step that we should take. So I’ll put that on the table,” she said.
She and other premiers are expected to meet with Trudeau to discuss the issue on Wednesday.
“There’s a lot of rumors going around. But when we get there Wednesday, we’ll expect a list and we need them to be 100 per cent ready,” Ford said of potential retaliatory tariffs.
When asked if excluding energy from those retaliatory tariffs might undermine the negotiating position of other premiers, or of Canada as a whole, Smith said she feels talking about energy is the “way we make the case” to avoid tariffs on every Canadian product.
If Alberta’s energy exports were taken out of the trade equation, the Americans would have a trade surplus with Canada, she said.
Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King is on his own economic mission to the northeastern United States, including Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
King is leading a 22-person delegation meeting with industry leaders, business associations and stakeholders to promote P.E.I.’s contributions to the potato and seafood sectors.
— With files from Hina Alam, The Canadian Press
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