Ontario Premier Doug Ford (centre left) makes opening remarks during a first ministers meeting in Ottawa on Wednesday, Jan.15, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

By Canadian Press

NATIONAL

Danielle Smith breaks with counterparts, Trudeau over tariffs response

Jan 15, 2025 | 6:00 PM

The country’s premiers emerged from a key meeting about Canada-U.S. relations in Ottawa on Wednesday with a message of unity and a pledge to stand together, with one exception: Alberta’s Danielle Smith, who said she cannot support the federal government’s plan if energy export tariffs could be a part of it.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who chaired the first ministers’ meeting, said it was “highly productive.”

“We have a shared sense of purpose, a shared sense of understanding, and a commitment to stand together on a united path forward,” he said.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who has long been a vocal critic of Trudeau’s Liberal government, began Wednesday by echoing Smith’s concerns that blocking energy exports to the United States would trigger a national unity crisis.

After the meeting, he struck a diplomatic tone.

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“Canadians can be thankful their 13 premiers, the prime minister and a few federal ministers are coming together not only to hash out what those differences might be, but to understand where we can come together,” Moe said.

But as the premiers spoke to reporters in Ottawa, Smith, who attended the meeting remotely while on vacation and didn’t take part in the press conference, took to social media to explain why she refused to sign a joint statement with her colleagues.

“Alberta will simply not agree to export tariffs on our energy or other products, nor do we support a ban on exports of these same products. We will take whatever actions are needed to protect the livelihoods of Albertans from such destructive federal policies,” said Smith.

She added that Canada needs to “correct the misguided direction of this country” and focus on developing, upgrading and exporting oil and gas and other resources.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, chair of the Council of the Federation, said he respects that Smith is concerned with protecting Alberta energy but he believes incoming U.S. president Donald Trump is trying to divide and conquer.

“He’s coming full-tilt at Canadians as a whole, and that’s one thing we have to understand. We need to be united,” Ford said.

Trump has threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods beginning on Jan. 20, inauguration day.

While he initially said the tariffs were being imposed in response to drugs and illegal immigration crossing the shared border, he has since pivoted to citing the United States’ trade deficit with Canada.

Senior government officials have previously said Ottawa is looking at imposing retaliatory tariffs on things like American steel, ceramics, plastics and orange juice.

Trudeau said Wednesday he supports the principle of a dollar-for-dollar response to the American tariffs, but said Canada must wait to see what Trump actually does next week before laying out a response.

“We’ll make sure that it’s fair across the country, but nothing can be off the table if the U.S. continues to choose to move forward with these punishing tariffs on both Canadians and Americans,” Trudeau said.

He also opened the door to providing federal bailouts for industries or regions that are affected by tariffs.

“We’ve made the commitment to do everything we can, and I know everyone around the table has agreed to, if their region is less impacted, they’ll do what they can to help out regions that are more impacted,” he said.

Canada is the top supplier of foreign oil to the U.S. and accounts for about one-fifth of its oil supply.

Energy Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, who was in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, said initial retaliatory tariffs will be targeted.

“If we have to do more we will look at other things, but the idea of tariffing energy will probably be one of the last things,” he said.

Trudeau and the premiers said they plan to continue making the case to the Trump administration that tariffs will hurt American businesses and industry, too.

“The question that we ask ourselves first and foremost is, if the new administration chooses to bring in tariffs, what is it that we can do that result in the lifting of those tariffs as quickly as possible?” Trudeau said.

Border under control, Canada says

Ottawa has added 60 new drones at the Canada-U.S. border and the RCMP will deploy two new helicopters this week as officials move to ratchet up security.

Federal ministers and security officials trotted out details of the new border measures Wednesday — part of the Trudeau government efforts to show it’s serious about beefing up border protection just days before U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The Liberal government pledged $1.3 billion in border upgrades in December, after Trump threatened to impose steep tariffs unless Canada and Mexico clamped down on the flow of migrants and illegal drugs.

Those border concerns have largely been replaced by complaints about Canada’s trade deficit with the U.S. in Trump’s most recent threats to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports on his first day in office.

At a news conference Wednesday, federal officials promoted Canada’s efforts to bolster border security, played down the notion of any serious problems and stressed the need to shun unhelpful drama while staying focused on results.

As part of the blueprint unfurled last month, the RCMP plans to set up an aerial intelligence task force for round-the-clock surveillance of Canada’s border, using helicopters, drones and surveillance towers.

Canada will also propose to the United States the creation of a North American “joint strike force” to target organized crime groups that work across borders.

In addition, the government is providing new technology, tools and resources to the Canada Border Services Agency to watch out for fentanyl shipments using chemical detection, artificial intelligence and canine teams.

Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said during the news conference Wednesday that “the northern border represents a very small fraction of seized fentanyl.”

The government says that between 2018 and 2024, Canadian law enforcement disrupted and dismantled 44 lab sites tied to illicit fentanyl.

“Despite evidence of domestic production occurring in Canada, there is little to no evidence from either Canadian or U.S. law enforcement that Canadian-produced fentanyl is an increasing threat to the United States,” says a December briefing note prepared for McGuinty.

The government also points to a reduction in the number of illicit border crossings from Canada to the U.S., a crackdown on visa fraud and increased removals of failed refugee claimants.

Canada must avoid dramatic comments and stay focused on implementing changes and managing its relationship with Washington, McGuinty said.

“Life is about relationship management, isn’t it? And Canada’s number one relationship, in my view, is the United States,” he said.

“We’re interested in making progress and showing the newly elected American government that we’re serious about our border relationship, that it’s integrated, that we do it together.”

Officials say they are preparing for a possible surge in migrants heading to Canada in response to the incoming U.S. administration’s threat of mass deportations.

“We don’t know yet how quickly the new administration wants to proceed on that front,” McGuinty said. “We’re watching it carefully, watching the numbers carefully.”

RCMP deputy commissioner Bryan Larkin said the Mounties have been working with the border services agency, the provinces and territories to ensure swift action in the event of a crisis at the border.

“And so the RCMP is heavily focused on, how do we do that?” he said. “What’s our operational planning? How do we move resources, and how do we support our colleagues at (the Canada Border Services Agency) and other police services?”