Danielle Smith says tariff deal needs to be made ‘through a diplomatic point of view’

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says Canada is enjoying a reprieve from Donald Trump’s tariff threat, but it must use its time wisely because the new U.S. president could bring them in at any time.

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During a media conference on Tuesday morning, Smith said Canada and Alberta don’t want to see tariffs.

“We were pleased to see Canada got a day one reprieve from tariffs, but if you look at the work, there is a review going on that is due back April 1,” she said.

“We have a short window, I think, to be able to demonstrate the very positive relationship that Canada and the U.S. have from a tariff-free viewpoint and why it should remain tariff-free.”

She said Canada’s best foot forward would be one of diplomacy.

“We should be talking about the trade deficit by talking about how we should have more cross-border trade.”

Smith said Trump “likes to win” and doesn’t respond to threats, especially unfounded ones.

“There is no question this president is enthusiastic about tariffs,” Smith said.

“If he’s looking at tariffs as a revenue source, it’s going to require a different result from us. We’re going to have to think about what that actually means.”

Canada’s position harmed by looming election

Smith is concerned about the situation in Ottawa and the position of having a leader with no real mandate puts the country in when it comes to negotiations.

“We don’t have a leader with a long enough mandate to be able to sustain the negotiations. We’re going to see a change in prime minister in 47 days. We’re going to see, potentially, a spring election that might result in another change of prime minister a few weeks after that,” she said.

Smith said the relationships the premiers have with Trump is “going to be the consistent voice.”

‘Alberta is the answer’

Smith said Alberta does have a big role to fill over the next four years under Trump and hopes the U.S. thirst for heavy oil draws attention to her province.

“If he wants energy security, then you should be talking about how you can provide energy security,” she said.

“We’ve been wanting to double our oil production. We want to double the amount of pipeline space. I think there is a constructive conversation to have there.”

Smith said there “needs to be a recalibration” of what needs to be done.

The reason the Canada-U.S. relationship is so strong is because provinces are not very good at supporting each other, especially when it comes to pipeline projects like Northern Gateway and Energy East.

“We have too many internal trade barriers and too much opposition to these big, nation-building projects,” Smith said.

“The (U.S.) administration knows who Alberta is and they know we have a lot of oil and gas.

“Alberta is the answer and Canada is the answer and that’s the point of discussion that we are beginning with the administration.”

Timeline on tariffs unknown

While Trump mentioned Feb. 1 as the day Canada would see tariffs, political scientists are skeptical on when, exactly, the taxes will come into play.

“It almost seemed like he pulled Feb. 1 out of thin air,” said Mount Royal University’s Duane Bratt. “So, it might be Feb. 1. It might be Feb. 2, it might be May. It might be next year.

“We simply don’t know, because it all depends on the erraticness and the chaos agent that Donald Trump is.”

Bratt says Smith’s actions are entirely focused on Alberta and could be undermining the efforts of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the other premiers, who are working to benefit Canada.

“Danielle Smith is only talking about oil and gas and only. I mean, she says it’s not about Alberta. People ask, ‘is this a carve out for Alberta?’ She goes, ‘no, it’s carve out for oil and gas.‘

“Well, most of that comes from Alberta, some from Saskatchewan, some from Newfoundland, but largely, Alberta. She’s focused on that.”

Smith pointed to six things Canada should focus on to prevent tariffs:

- Diplomacy and refrain from further talk of retaliatory measures, including export tariffs or cutting off energy to the U.S.;

- Negotiate ways to increase what Canadians and Americans buy from one another;

- Double down on border security;

- Acceleration of Canada’s two per cent of GDP NATO target;

- Crack down on immigration streams and loopholes that are known to permit individuals hostile to Canada and the United States; and

- Immediately repeal all federal anti-energy policies.

With files from CTV News’ Tyler Barrow