Alberta Premier Danielle Smith hammered new U.S. tariffs in a statement released Tuesday.
The statement came hours after the Trump administration followed through on 25% tariffs on Canadian goods entering the U.S. and a 10% tariff on oil and gas.
Smith called the action an “unjustifiable economic attack” and a violation of the trade agreement Trump signed during his first term.
Smith warned the tariffs would backfire, raising costs for Americans on essentials like fuel, food, and housing while threatening hundreds of thousands of jobs on both sides of the border.
“This policy is both foolish and a failure in every regard,” she said, lamenting the strain on Canada-U.S. relations, two of the world’s closest trading partners and allies.
Smith said she wasn't in favour of increasing tariffs on energy.
Smith expressed Alberta’s full support for the federal government’s response, announced earlier today by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and revealed plans to convene her cabinet over the next two days to craft a provincial counterstrategy.
Trudeau announced retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. at a press conference on Tuesday — 25% tariffs on $155 billion worth of American goods, starting with $30 billion immediately and the remaining $125 billion in 21 days.
Canada will also file dispute resolution claims at the World Trade Organization.
Trudeau said the U.S. tariffs could cause market downturns, rising inflation, and increased costs for American consumers.
"Donald, they (Wall Street Journal) point out that even though you're a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do," said Trudeau. "We two friends fighting is exactly what our opponents around the world want to see."
Trudeau warned Canadians that hard times are ahead in terms of the economy.
"I won't sugarcoat it, this is going to be tough," he said. "We will use every tool at our disposal so Canadian workers and businesses can weather this storm, from expanding EI benefits and making them more flexible to providing direct supports to businesses, we will be there as needed to help Canada."
Smith called for unity in Canada, noting government must do what it can to remove provincial trade barriers and fast-track the construction of dozens of resource projects, from pipelines to LNG facilities to critical minerals.
"We must strengthen our trade ties throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas for all our energy, agricultural, and manufactured products," she said.
"We also need to drastically increase military spending to ensure we can protect our nation. There is no time to waste on any of these initiatives."
Canada has taken significant action to enhance border security — one of Trump's primary complaints that was used to justify tariffs against Canada. Trump has repeated calls for the U.S. to assimilate Canada