Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said there would be a 'national unity crisis' if Ottawa attempted to stop the flow of Alberta oil and gas to the U.S. in a potential trade dispute with President-elect Donald Trump.
Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian goods unless Canada resolves its border security problems. On Sunday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Canada is not ruling out the restriction of energy exports to the U.S. as a potential countermeasure.
"All options are on the table when it comes to defending Canadian interests, and that includes our energy exports to the United States," said Joly.
"We've seen the rhetoric from the Trump campaign, and we must be prepared for all scenarios. If the U.S. imposes tariffs, we won't hesitate to look at our options, including energy exports."
Smith fired back during a press conference on Monday, saying there would be a "national unity crisis" if Ottawa attempted to restrict Alberta energy to the U.S.
"We just won't stand for that," she said. "And I don't think Ontario and Quebec should stand for that. They shouldn't be standing by and listening while a federal minister talks about cutting off their energy supply."
In 2023, the value of Alberta's crude oil exports to the U.S. was approximately C$113.4 billion. In 2024, the value was C$127 billion.
"We could have had Energy East (pipeline), which would have expanded our ability to support our friends in eastern Canada, and also been an export market off the east coast," said Smith.
"We could have had Northern Gateway (pipeline), which would have expanded and supported export markets in a more substantial way off the west coast."
She said of Ottawa's hostility towards Alberta when it comes to energy, "And eastern politicians advocated against those things, and so we went to work on expanding our access to the United States with additional egress, with twinning, with looping. We did that because the rest of the country wasn't interested in having that conversation."
