Author: Alex Dhaliwal
Premier Danielle Smith is warning Ottawa that escalating its trade war with retaliatory tariffs risks making Canadians pay the price for punishing Washington.
“I know, emotionally, it feels good to retaliate. I get that,” Smith said during her Saturday radio show. “But let’s remember what happens when we retaliate.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada is prepared to impose dollar-for-dollar tariffs on American imports after his government walked away from trade negotiations with Washington on Friday.
The counter-tariffs are expected to take effect after Labour Day unless the two countries reach an agreement.
Smith backed Carney’s decision to abandon the negotiations, saying some U.S. demands were too damaging for Canada to accept.
“There were just a couple of key demands from the United States that made it really untenable for us to sign off,” she said. “It would have been too painful.”
But Smith warned that retaliatory tariffs of up to 50% on U.S. goods could significantly raise costs for Canadian consumers and businesses.
“We shouldn’t be cheering if our farmers have to pay 50 per cent more for all the equipment that they need to produce our food,” Smith said. “That is not a success.”