‘I dare ya’.
That’s the message from former Alberta premier Jason Kenney to US president Donald Trump on the issue of oil tariffs.
Kenney all but taunted The Donald to follow through on his threats to impose 25% tariffs on some 4.5 million barrels per day of Alberta crude to find out just how much the US needs Canadian oil.
It came after Trump on Thursday told the World Economic Forum (WEF) “we don’t need their oil and gas” via video link from Washington DC.
“Canada has been very tough to deal with over the years, and it’s not fair that we should have a USD$200 billion or $250 billion (trade) deficit,” Trump told the Davos crowd.
“We don’t need them to make our cars, and they make a lot of them. We don’t need their lumber because we have our own forests. We don’t need their oil and gas. We have more than anybody.”
"We can’t be wusses about this. We have to have a spine,”
Former premier Jason Kenney
But Kenney said he found the comments perplexing, given that 60% of its imports and about a quarter of its overall oil supply comes from Wild Rose Country.
“I mean, just to focus on how peculiar these remarks are, one fifth of the oil consumed in the United States comes from Canada. So actually, actually the United States does need that,” he told the CBC.
“You know, it was not many years ago that president Trump's first administration renegotiated NAFTA with Canada, and he came away from it saying it was ‘the best trade agreement in history’. So I don't know why he suddenly believes Canada is difficult to deal with.”
Kenney made waves earlier this week after he told CTV News that he supports turning off the taps to inflict pain on American consumers — and oppose Trump’s unilateral “hostility and aggression” — in stark contrast to Premier Danielle Smith’s soft and fuzzy ‘diplomatic’ approach.
“Generally, we need to be prepared to retaliate in kind to any unfair tariffs imposed on us by the United States. We can’t be wusses about this. We have to have a spine,” Kenney said.
In 2023, cross border trade accounted 89% of the Alberta’s exports worth CAD$156.3 billion. More than 80% of that was oil and gas.
Analysts said US motorists would face outright shortages if Alberta were to follow through with export cuts. Kenney agreed Americans should feel the pain.
“I don’t think that begins by taking entire segments of our export products off the table,” he continued. “I think we need to signal to Washington that if they damage this trading relationship with the imposition of some arbitrary tariff on Canada, then we will respond in ways that will hurt the United States.”
And the notion that the US subsidizes Canada to the tune of $200 billion — in energy, at least — is flat out wrong.
In fact, the US buys Canadian heavy oil at discounts that have historically averaged about 15% — and as high as 50% — while it exports its own higher value crude through the Trump-branded ‘Gulf of America’ at world prices.
Even no less an authoritative source such as CNN called Trump’s trade deficit claims an “exaggeration” and a “misstatement.”
“It’s important to note that deficit (with Canada) is overwhelmingly caused by the fact that the US imports a large quantity of cheap Canadian heavy oil that keeps American gas prices down.”
Kevin O'Leary, Canada's self-described 'Mr. Wonderful', said its clear Trump's comments are a "negotiating leverage tool" by virtue of the fact the US is the largest market on Earth.
In that regard, Trump's message is simple: "Start spending on security for the northern border. Pay your 2% to NATO. Stop sending fentanyl from China over the border into the United States or you're going to face tariffs."
