‘Not obvious’ that Canada will strike a trade deal with U.S., B.C. Premier Eby says

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British Columbia Premier David Eby says it’s not clear that Canada will end up striking a deal with the U.S. as the two countries negotiate a new trade and security pact under President Donald Trump’s Aug. 1 deadline.

Mr. Eby, who attended the summer gathering of Canada’s premiers in the Ontario community of Muskoka this week, said Prime Minister Mark Carney briefed the premiers on the status of negotiations with the U.S. on Tuesday.

“What we learned is what everybody knows, which is that things are very unpredictable, incredibly fluid, that there continues to be hope for a deal on the Canadian side,” Mr. Eby told The Globe and Mail in an interview Wednesday.

“The sense that I had was that the Prime Minister is trying to get the best deal, but that it’s not obvious that there will be a deal.”

Mr. Carney joined the summer premiers’ meeting on Tuesday morning to address Mr. Trump’s threat to raise tariffs on some Canadian goods to 35 per cent at the beginning of next month.

Coming out of those talks, the Prime Minister and several premiers said getting the best deal for Canada is what matters most, even if that means blowing past the Aug. 1 deadline.

Speaking to reporters at a closing news conference on Wednesday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she was hoping for a full renegotiation of the free trade deal with the U.S. The United States-Mexico-Canada agreement is currently scheduled to be revisited in 2026.

“I find that disappointing. I would have liked to have seen it accelerated,” she said, adding that the focus now is on sectoral tariffs such as autos, steel, aluminum and timber.

“If we can come up with some kind of common arrangement on those sectoral agreements by Aug. 1, we’ll look at that as a win. And if it takes a little bit longer to renegotiate the Canada-U.S. free-trade agreement to make sure that we get it right, then I’m supportive of that.”

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew added: “I think it’s really important for Canada to get a good deal, rather than rushing to take any deal, including one that might harm us in the long term.”

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While Ontario Premier Doug Ford has called for matching retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods dollar for dollar, Mr. Eby said he supports retaliation but has concerns about the impact it might have on his province.

Others, such as Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Ms. Smith, have called for restraint, saying countertariffs only hurt Canadian industries.

The Prime Minister didn’t directly answer Tuesday when asked whether Canada would retaliate if the higher tariffs go into effect.

Mr. Eby said he’s proud of the boycott of American Liquor in B.C. and that many are not travelling to the U.S. unless it’s absolutely required. The U.S. ambassador to Canada recently said that Mr. Trump thinks Canadians are “nasty” to deal with because of U.S. boycotts.

“We know the Americans are feeling it. We heard the comments of the ambassador that we’re nasty Canadians for doing this. And the concern that I have is that any retaliatory measures minimize impact on British Columbians and on Canadians and maximize the impact on Americans,” he said.

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Mr. Eby added that the retaliatory measures imposed by the federal government so far “disproportionately impact” his province, saying it’s costly for his province to import steel from eastern provinces.

He said he’s been advocating for reaching an agreement on the long-running Canada-U.S. softwood-lumber dispute, saying for the first time that Canadian companies appear willing to discuss issues like quotas on the amount of timber sent to the U.S.

The second major piece of Mr. Carney’s talks with the premiers was his government’s One Canadian Economy Act, known as Bill C-5, which gives the federal government the power to fast-track major projects of national interest.

The Prime Minister said that a new major projects office will be open by Labour Day, which will provide a single point of contact for governments and project proponents, although the final list of projects has yet to be made public.

Mr. Eby said he gets frustrated by Ms. Smith’s push for a pipeline to the West Coast, saying it’s causing “significant grief in the northwest among First Nations that are close partners of ours,” and that there isn’t a realistic proposal for one.

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In a joint communiqué issued on Tuesday, the premiers also called for closer engagement with China to improve the overall trade relationship.

Mr. Ford told reporters Wednesday that dealing with China is a reality.

“Our enemy of our enemy is our friend. And I don’t consider Americans [the] enemy, but right now President Trump himself is acting like the enemy,” Mr. Ford said.

“As long as China plays fair and doesn’t undercut our markets – be it the auto sector or any sector – I have no problem dealing with them, because we’re already dealing with them.”