Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is calling a cabinet meeting this week to consider responses to U.S. tariffs, said press secretary Sam Blackett in statement.
U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs against Canada that could devastate the economy — a 25% tariff on goods, including steel, copper, and aluminum, as well as 10% on oil and gas.
Smith, who was branded a traitor by some for her proactive diplomacy with Trump, may be responsible for a much lower tariff on energy products.
She met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and the presidential inauguration, while Canada floundered with a prorogued parliament and resigned prime minister.
Smith has pushed back on the idea of using Alberta oil and gas as a bargaining chip in a trade war with the U.S.
Justin Trudeau says all options are on the table when it comes to retaliation — he promised that no province will be singled-out or unfairly affected by retaliations.
There are few indications of what Alberta's tariff response will be.
"Initiating a tariff war by breaking the trade agreement signed by our two nations during the president’s first term is simply not justifiable, nor will it address the problems he seeks to solve," wrote Smith in a National Post op-ed.
"This decision will harm both Canadian and American consumers, workers and businesses alike, and strain the historic and important friendship between our two nations."
Smith added, "I am calling on my fellow premiers, the prime minister and all of our national leaders to de-escalate the rhetoric as much as possible and look to diplomacy and advocacy as our primary tool to resolve this conflict."
In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford declared the province will ban American companies from participating in provincial contracts until the U.S. tariffs are removed — he cancelled a $100-million contract with Elon Musk's Starlink.
In B.C., Premier David Eby announced immediate countermeasures, including directing the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch to stop buying American liquor from "red states" and removing top-selling "red-state" brands from the shelves of public liquor stores.
Alberta exported an average of 3.36 million barrels of oil per day to the U.S. in 2023.
With the Trans Mountain Expansion coming online in May 2024, there was a significant increase in export capacity.
By July 2024, the U.S. West Coast alone saw a record high import of 498,000 barrels per day from Canada