WATCH: Political analyst warns against premiers leveraging another province's assets during Canada's trade war

EDMONTON — Conservative political analyst Katlyn Harrison cautioned Canadian premiers against attempting to leverage Alberta's or Saskatchewan's energy assets in trade negotiations, emphasizing the importance of respecting jurisdictional boundaries. "I think the premiers in particular need to be very careful about doing, and that's putting on the table for countermeasures or threats around energy supply assets and resources for which they do not control," said Harrison, vice chair of Summa Strategies, during Monday’s episode of CBC's Power and Politics. .The comments came during a discussion about remarks by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who took shots at U.S. President Donald Trump in response to his 50% tariffs on select Canadian goods and suggested cutting the supply of oil flowing from Alberta to the U.S. Harrison said she believes a number of premiers, not just Ford, are opting to take shots at Trump instead of saying or doing what may be in the best interest of their province. Premiers and other leaders across Canada have repeatedly called on the federal government to leverage Canada's energy resources, particularly Alberta's oil and Saskatchewan's potash, as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the U.S. "If Danielle Smith had suggested publicly that removal of the French language packaging labelling requirements, anything really to do with Quebec cultural sovereignty, was on the table and something that the prime minister should consider, premiers would rightly be outraged," Harrison said. "I think it is irresponsible to ask Danielle Smith and Scott Moe to leverage their own energy assets without considering those in your own province. That's how you have more division in this country, and not how you try to get back to the table and approach things in a unified manner." .Smith has consistently opposed using Alberta's oil as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations, and on Monday she said cutting energy exports would be "extremely harmful to Canadians and is not a viable option."Prime Minister Mark Carney previously said he is not looking to use energy as a negotiating tool, stating that Canada must uphold their reputation as a reliable supplier despite the trade war. "One of the things that you see in the world, we have many exports and commodities, one of the biggest commodities, arguably the best, is trust," said Carney in July. "People trust us. And so when you're a supplier of a key commodity, key service, you got to think really hard about not supplying."

WATCH: Political analyst warns against premiers leveraging another province's assets during Canada's trade war

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