B.C. Premier David Eby asks Canadians to think carefully about spending money in U.S.

B.C. Premier David Eby speaks during a news conference in Vancouver, on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Premier David Eby says British Columbians should rethink trips to the United States and purchases of American products, as the province establishes a task force to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs.

He says the proposed 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian exports would be a “deliberate economic attack” on B.C. families and people should think carefully about spending money in a country that wants to do them economic harm.

Eby told a news conference that British Columbians should read the labels of products they buy to make sure they are supporting Canadian-made goods.

The premier says the task force includes representatives from the business, Indigenous and labour communities to co-ordinate the provincial response to the tariff threat.

The task force will be co-chaired by Vancouver International Airport President and CEO Tamara Vrooman, Teck President and CEO Jonathan Price and Greater Vancouver Board of Trade President and CEO Bridgitte Anderson.

Eby says the B.C. government supports the federal government’s plan to establish retaliatory tariffs on Republican states if the U.S. tariffs proceed.

Trump said Monday he wanted the 25 per cent tariffs imposed on Canada and Mexico by Feb. 1, although his executive order calling for an investigation of trade says its report is not due until April 1.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2025.

Marcy Nicholson, The Canadian Press