Ontario Premier Doug Ford, wearing a 'Canada Is Not For Sale' hat, speaks as he arrives for a first ministers meeting in Ottawa, on Jan. 15.Justin Tang/The Associated Press
Divisions between Canada’s premiers in the face of potential U.S. tariffs remain on full display, with Ontario’s Doug Ford backing a sweeping “dollar-for-dollar” response while Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe and Alberta’s Danielle Smith call for a more diplomatic approach.
The latest squabbling, as the country works to head off U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian imports on Feb. 1, emerged on Wednesday after the premiers met virtually with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Ms. Smith, however, did suggest that the premiers had made progress in several areas, such as forging what she called a growing consensus for provincial consent before using exports such as oil as retaliation – a key sticking point that saw her publicly break with Ottawa and her counterparts last week.
In a meeting now set to be held weekly as Canada faces the crisis posed by Mr. Trump, the premiers also agreed to renew efforts to reduce barriers to trade within the country, between the 10 provinces and three territories. This could strengthen the economy as it faces a blow from any Trump tariffs.
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In a statement, Mr. Trudeau’s office said he and the premiers agreed that the Committee on Internal Trade, which is made up of federal and provincial representatives, should meet as soon as possible to recommend “concrete measures to liberalize trade” within Canada.
Meanwhile, federal and provincial efforts to meet with U.S. officials and avoid the tariffs continue. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is heading back to Washington next week for two days of meetings with U.S. lawmakers, her office said.
Economists warn that a dollar-for-dollar matching of U.S. tariffs with Canadian ones on U.S. goods shipped north of the border would compound the massive economic damage to Canada expected to be caused by Mr. Trump’s protectionist plan. However, they would cause U.S. exporters pain as well.
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Speaking at Queen’s Park after the federal-provincial meeting, Mr. Ford – who holds the rotating chair of the premiers’ Council of the Federation – said Canada needs to match any U.S. tariffs “dollar for dollar.” This is a position favoured by the departing Mr. Trudeau and the two leading candidates to replace him as Liberal leader, Mark Carney and Chrystia Freeland. But Mr. Ford sidestepped a question about whether most of his fellow premiers agree.
“As I said to the premiers, you can’t bring a knife to a gun fight,” Mr. Ford told reporters at Queen’s Park. “Usually, the guy with a knife loses in a gun fight.”
He did acknowledge that Ms. Smith remains offside with some of her fellow provincial leaders on how to retaliate.
“We had a good discussion with Premier Smith, and she understands that we need to be united,” Mr. Ford said. “And I understand that she wants to protect, you know, her main commodity. But country comes first.”
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Ontario’s Premier also said Canada needs to build new oil-and-gas pipelines, citing the defunct Energy East and Northern Gateway projects, and speed up years-long approvals to open new mines for critical minerals.
In a lengthy post on X, Ms. Smith – in Washington where she said she met with senators and U.S. House members – said Wednesday’s discussion with Mr. Trudeau and the premiers was “more positive” than last week’s.
She said there was a “growing consensus (though not entirely unanimous)” on a commitment to improve border security and boost military spending, the need for more east-west oil-and-gas pipelines to get those products to other markets, and ending interprovincial trade barriers.
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Ms. Smith said this consensus included the “necessity of consulting with and securing consent from individual provinces before cutting off or placing export tariffs on key exports from those provinces.” And Alberta, she said, “will continue to oppose any such extreme measures on our energy exports.”
She also asserted that the premiers agreed on “constructive, proactive diplomacy with U.S. lawmakers rather than escalating rhetoric.”
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Saskatchewan’s Premier said dollar-for-dollar tariffs were “escalating” and “not in Canada’s best interests.” Mr. Moe said he would only support “very small, targeted” tariffs intended to change minds of U.S. decision-makers. And he opposed any consideration of export taxes on Canadian resources, whether oil or Saskatchewan’s vast uranium or potash resources.
Quebec Premier François Legault said it was too soon to decide on retaliation measures, such as any attempt to dissuade the many Quebeckers who travel to Florida during the winter. And he said his first objective is to persuade Mr. Trump not to institute any tariffs.
“I don’t want to provoke him,” the Quebec Premier told reporters in Saint-Sauveur, Que.
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said he supported eliminating interprovincial trade barriers. He also said a retaliation plan could include restricting American suppliers from being awarded Nova Scotia government contracts.
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In addition, he called on the Prime Minister to immediately approve the Energy East pipeline, a years-defunct project that would transport crude oil from Alberta and Saskatchewan to Quebec and New Brunswick.
Mr. Ford said the premiers were set to draft a list of interprovincial trade barriers that could be lifted. These barriers, embedded in regulations governing everything from the movement of professionals to wine and beer, are a long-standing issue that some economists say lower Canada’s gross domestic product by 3 to 7 per cent.
Mr. Ford said he had seen numbers suggesting that these barriers could be costing Canada’s economy around $50-billion to $100-billion a year. But he also acknowledged that all provinces have long been keen to protect their own turf.
In a statement, B.C. Premier David Eby said he raised the need to break down trade barriers inside Canada at Wednesday’s meeting, arguing that the U.S. tariff threat is also an opportunity to address this issue and pointing to a recent deal between his province and Alberta that allows B.C wineries to sell directly to Alberta consumers.
With reports from Steven Chase, Lindsay Jones and Justine Hunter