Premier Danielle Smith speaks during a news conference in Brooks, Alta., on April 1, 2025. Eli J. Ridder/CHAT News

By Eli J. Ridder

TRADE WAR

Premier Smith says she’s sticking to U.S. tariffs approach

Apr 2, 2025 | 12:10 PM

Premier Danielle Smith says she’ll stick to her contentious approach of trying to make the case against U.S. tariffs on Canada with right-wing media personalities and down-ballot Republicans as U.S. President Donald Trump mulls another round of damaging economic tariffs.

“It was agreed by all the premiers that we would work our contacts so that we would talk to every single individual elected member of office and incoming member of the administration, including influencers and podcasters,” she said Tuesday at an unrelated announcement in Brooks.

Smith said that effort aims “to do everything we possibly can to ward off tariffs, delay tariffs, or get them cancelled altogether” and insisted she will continue the strategy.

The premier recently made a taxpayer-funded trip to Florida to feature alongside right-wing podcaster Ben Sharpiro at a private fundraiser event.

She cited Shapiro’s large reach — particularly to Republicans and Trump supporters — as a way to get the message out that Canada is a strong ally the U.S. shouldn’t start a trade war with.

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“We had a very constructive conversation where I talked about the integration of our economies on everything from oil and gas in Alberta to critical minerals in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and all of our provinces and territories, cars from Ontario, uranium from Saskatchewan,” Smith said.

“And that, to me, is what the Team Canada approach is.”

Smith made the comments Tuesday, about 24 hours before a planned news conference Wednesday afternoon when Trump is expected to lay out his plans for reciprocal tariffs on countries that trade with the U.S.

Trump has said he will impose reciprocal tariffs by increasing U.S. duties to match the tax rates other countries charge on imports.

While it’s not clear what the latest levies could mean for Canada, the country could also face a second hit with the return of fentanyl-related duties at the same time.

In early March, Trump imposed — and then partially paused — 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on Canada and Mexico, with a lower 10 per cent levy on energy, and linked the duties to the flow of fentanyl across the border.

U.S. government data shows that only a very small volume of the drug is seized at the northern border. The Annual Threat Assessment report, released last week, does not mention Canada in its section on illicit drugs and fentanyl.

The president had said those tariffs would return Wednesday — but the White House indicated earlier this week that no decision had been made.

— With files from The Canadian Press

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