Premier Smith halts U.S. purchases, opens Alberta to interprovincial free trade

Smith, in her first televised address responding to the U.S. sanctions, called President Donald Trump’s levies “a betrayal of a deep and abiding friendship” that existed between the two countries.

Alberta will no longer buy American alcohol and video lottery terminals or sign contracts with American companies, following suit with other provinces. The province’s liquor stores are privately owned but still must order stock through the provincial government.

Ivonne Martinez, president of the Alberta Liquor Store Association, said the impact of cutting off American products will vary from store to store but believes retailers will be able to adjust.

The province will also launch an advertising campaign and help grocers and other retailers label Canadian products in stores, Smith said.

The Alberta government has argued the federal government should not include Alberta’s energy exports in countertariffs.

Smith reiterated that while oil and gas from Alberta is critical to the U.S. economy, she won’t play what she called that “trump card” by adding levies to oil and gas exports or cutting off the province’s supply heading south.

Adding export taxes on energy would only rebound on Canadian consumers, because the U.S. would respond in kind and Ontario and Quebec rely on cross-border oil shipments.

“Cutting off energy entirely would make Canada the bad guy for Americans, and we don’t want that. We want the Americans to blame their struggles on the actual source of their problems — that being the Trump tariffs,” said Smith.

“Until our U.S. friends come back to reality, we will focus on efforts and financial means to export one of the largest oil and gas deposits in the world elsewhere.”

The Alberta government also wants to bring down interprovincial trade barriers that studies claim cost the Canadian economy billions of dollars annually.

“My government will enter into free trade and labour mobility agreements with every province that is willing to do so,” Smith said.

“The goal is to have no exceptions, just free trade and free movement of Canadian workers right across our province.”

Lisa Dressler, executive director of the Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce, said she supported Smith’s effort to tear down the internal trade barriers — an action she and others have long called for.

“While decisions south of the border finally created urgency to enact these measures, we know that a free, fair and open Canada can only strengthen our economy and get movement of our people and goods across Canada more easily,” Dressler said.

“For decades, it’s often been easier to export product outside of Canada than to do business within it and we hope that other premiers will follow the example set by Premier Smith.”

Trump on Tuesday slapped 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods and 10 per cent levies on energy, saying he wants Canada to take action on cross-border drug traffic.

Alberta’s public safety minister Mike Ellis on Wednesday insisted the province’s border with the U.S. is “secure”, but announced new measures to increase that security.

The province will build three new sheriff-run inspection stations over the next two years with a $15-million investment funded through the 2025 budget.

“Commercial vehicles are commonly used to smuggle these drugs and illegal weapons and, unfortunately, people,” Ellis said.

“Our increased presence at the inspection stations sends a very clear message that cross-border crime will be promptly identified and disrupted.”

Dedicated facilities for Alberta Sheriffs are planned as an expansion to already existing vehicle inspection stations located by Dunmore southeast of Medicine Hat, Coutts at the U.S. border and the Burmis site near British Columbia.

Alberta has also equipped the the border-focused Interdiction Patrol Team including drones, night-vision optics and drug-sniffing dogs, to enhance its ability to detect and intercept illegal activity.

In addition to law enforcement efforts, highway maintenance workers contracted by Volker Stevin will be trained to identify and report suspicious activity, adding an extra layer of security without increasing costs.

Since becoming operational, the patrol team has conducted over 3,300 stops, assisted authorities with four unauthorized border crossings, executed 18 warrants and made three arrests related to drug trafficking.

The Trump and his administration has so far resisted removing the import taxes, saying that Canada wasn’t doing enough to stop drug smuggling. Less than one per cent of fentanyl seized by U.S. authorities since September were intercepted at the Canadian border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol figures.

Smith, speaking from Medicine Hat’s Provincial Building, warned Albertans will face job losses and higher inflation if the trade war continues for months or more.

“The road ahead is very bumpy,” Smith said. She also provided encouragement.

“There is not a shred of doubt in my mind that we will prevail, we are a strong and free people. We stick together and we help one another when the going gets tough,” she added.

“We are relentlessly innovative, and we find ways to overcome virtually any challenge placed before us. We always find a way, and we will do so again.”

Critics, including the Alberta NDP, called for Smith to deliver details about how her United Conservative government plans to help workers who might lose their jobs in the trade war.

The government has earmarked $4 billion for the coming fiscal year — double that of last year — for its contingency fund, in part to deal with the potential fallout from a tariff war.

“People in the beef industry are scared. People across agriculture industries are scared. People who work in the oilpatch are asking me: ‘What does this mean to me?'” NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said.

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said Smith’s new measures are positive but also called for specifics on the contingency fund.

“Waiting until people have lost their livelihoods is not a plan,” Gondek told reporters.

She also noted that 95 per cent of the city’s procurement contracts are already with Canadian companies.

— With files with The Canadian Press

by Eli. J Ridder

Premier Smith halts U.S. purchases, opens Alberta to interprovincial free trade

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