Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is optimistic Canada can resolve its differences with the U.S. when it comes to an emerging trade war.
All 13 Canadian premiers are in Washington, D.C., engaging in a diplomatic effort to address the looming threat of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, particularly steel and aluminum, as announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Canada appointed a "fentanyl czar" on Tuesday in response to Trump's complaints of poor security at the Canada-U.S. border leading to a flow of drugs and migrants into the U.S.
"I think diplomacy is working," said Smith in a press conference flanked by other premiers.
"I think the fact that we got a 30-day reprieve was because we agreed to work on the cross border problem of fentanyl. I was pleased to see the federal government announce a fentanyl czar, and my administration has already been in touch with him to talk about how in Alberta we can lend to the success of those efforts."
Smith thinks Trump will make a deal with Canada — particularly on steel and aluminum. She said the U.S. needs Canadian critical minerals and energy.
"It comes in. It makes value-added products. It creates good American jobs," she said. "It creates good American products that we buy back. Same thing for aluminum. They just do not make enough for their defense industry, their auto industry, and their critical needs."
Smith added, "I think we have to remember we've got two sets of tariffs. This first tariff was about dealing with the fentanyl crisis, and I think that we have satisfied the president that we're working on that."
"The second round of tariffs will come with a renegotiation of USMCA, and I think the sooner we get a government with a four-year mandate, the sooner we can open that up and solve the broader range of tariff issues that we have."