Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says latest U.S. tariffs hard to celebrate, but give time for talks

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Calgary – Alberta Prime Minister Danielle Smith said she doesn’t want to “dodge bullets” with U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement, but it could push for renegotiation of a trade agreement until after the April 28 federal election.

The Trump administration imposed a 25% tax on all automobile imports on Thursday, which increased the current relevant tax on all steel and aluminum imports by 25%.

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Canadian goods (called Cusma) under the Canada-US-Mexico Trade Agreement (Cusma) remain exempt from tariffs, although imports outside the agreement will be hit by a 25% tax, including 10% energy.

Smith told the business leader room in downtown Calgary that many departments will still be hurt.

“It’s hard for me to celebrate,” she said Thursday, noting the “destructive” impact on the forestry industry and steel, aluminum and automatic workers.

She said the Canada-US-Mexico Trade Agreement, known as Kusma, could be renegotiated until after the election, which she thought was “very positive.”

Her comment comes a day after she faces criticism as she calls the latest developments in the trade war “important victory” for Alberta and Canada.

For dozens of other countries, new import tariffs on U.S. goods will be 10% or more.

On Wednesday, Smith admitted that in Canada there are still efforts to eliminate the remaining tariffs and support affected workers. But Smith said: “It seems that the most serious tariff dispute is behind us.”

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She added most of the items sold to the US in Canada and will currently enjoy unlimited deals.

“That’s exactly the months I’ve been advocating with the U.S. government.”

This inspired Alberta New Democratic leader Naheed Nenshi to quit Canada with probation compared to other countries, but “it’s not the time to win.”

“It will hurt a lot of workers. It will hurt a lot of small and medium-sized businesses. It will weaken the Canadian industry,” he said.

James Moore, Cabinet Secretary under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, weighed on social media, noting that thousands of Canadians could lose their jobs.

“Respect for the Prime Minister, it’s not a good day for Canada or the world,” he said.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada would match taxes for vehicles imported from the United States.

Smith said she and her provincial counterparts were on board, and she believed the measures were proportional and unlikely to lead to further U.S. retaliation.

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Carney warned that Trump’s global trade hostility campaign with the country would “break” the global economy, but Smith’s measurement was more measured, saying global markets reflect trade uncertainty.

“We have a lot of interest in the responses of other countries,” she said. “We are also trying to make sure we are looking for new markets as well.”

Prices of West Texas intermediate oil (the benchmark price of North American oil) fell about $5 Thursday to less than $67 after Trump’s action. Alberta’s latest budget forecast is that the average price of WTI is $68 per barrel in 2025.

The province estimates that the cost of USD lost per dollar is $750 million in the Alberta Department of Treasury.

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