EDMONTON — Premier Danielle Smith emphasized the need for Canada to use diplomacy when working to develop a new trade deal with the U.S. on Thursday, emphasizing the urgent need to reach a deal while also avoiding making threats that will hurt Canada. "I'm already hearing stories from back home about some retailers who've made the decision to close down their shop, and so I think you're going to start seeing that kind of pressure on our side," said Smith on CBC's Power and Politics when asked about the tariffs introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday. "And I think that there's a real urgency to try to address it to make sure that it doesn't come into effect. I mean, I suppose he could have had it come into effect immediately; the fact that he didn't suggest to me that he wants to force us to the table, and I think that there's a framework for an agreement." .Trump's recently announced 50% tariffs on select Canadian products sent shockwaves across Canada and created a dominant theme across the Meeting of Canada's Premiers and First Ministers' Meeting in P.E.I. Ontario Premier Doug Ford and other premiers called on Canada to respond with harsh retaliatory actions, including withholding on products like potash and oil to "dismantle" the U.S.Smith pushed back against such actions on Thursday, warning about the drastic implications that withholding energy products could have on Canada. "What I would say is, you have to be very careful not to put things on the table that you're not prepared to do, and I'm going to try to prevent Canada from making a very dumb decision of putting energy on the table, because Line 5 goes through Michigan," Smith said. "If you cut off energy to the United States, they can cut off Line 5 and cut off energy to Ontario and Quebec. So no aviation fuel, no diesel, no gasoline, and we don't want to do that.""So, I would just say that it may sound tough to say those kinds of things, but if you cannot do it practically, and you're not prepared to live with the consequences of doing it, don't threaten it." .The Premier said Canada should enter the negotiations seeking a "win-win" deal, and she believes Prime Minister Mark Carney agrees with her approach. With that, Smith believes Canada is in a better position of leverage to secure a positive trade deal under Prime Minister Mark Carney than they were prior to him."The leverage comes from having a diverse market base to sell to, and that's been the big transformation in the last 18 months is we finally have a point where we are genuinely supporting each other and genuinely open to finding market access for all of our products," Smith said.Despite power and growth within, Smith said some of Canada's greatest negotiators and advocates are within the U.S. "We've hosted literally hundreds of legislators in Alberta in the last month, with the PNWER meetings, with the state legislators meetings, with Stampede, and every single one of them are friends and champions," Smith said. "And they're talking to those who are in positions of political power, who have constituencies, who know how strong the trade relationship is. They become our best advocate. So, that's been my approach."
