Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her province isn’t signing on to a joint statement by the prime minister and the premiers in response to U.S. tariffs because she doesn’t want to see energy exports cut as part of a possible retaliatory response.
Smith made the comments in a Jan. 15 social media post, while Canada’s other first ministers held a press conference following a meeting to discuss the country’s response to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s looming tariffs. Smith participated in the meeting virtually, but did not attend the closing media briefing or sign the joint statement.
“The Government of Alberta did not approve the joint statement between the Government of Canada and the Council of the Federation,” reads a note at the end of the document.
Smith said that while she had a “constructive” discussion with other premiers and “agreed on several strategies” during the meeting, her province will not back the federal government’s approach.
“Federal government officials continue to publicly and privately float the idea of cutting off energy supply to the U.S. and imposing export tariffs on Alberta energy and other products to the United States,” Smith wrote. “Until these threats cease, Alberta will not be able to fully support the federal government’s plan in dealing with the threatened tariffs.”
Smith said “Alberta will simply not agree” to energy export bans or tariffs, which she has said would harm both Canadians and Americans.
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Alberta is Canada’s largest oil and gas producer, and the United States its primary consumer. In 2023, the United States received 97 percent of Canada’s crude oil exports, with 87 percent coming from Alberta. Meanwhile, Canadian oil and gas accounted for 60 percent of all U.S. crude oil imports in 2023.
The joint statement, issued following the meeting of the prime minister and the premiers on Wednesday, says all orders of government will continue bolstering border security to meet Trump’s request to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs through the border into the United States. It also said the first ministers would consider retaliatory tariffs.
Commenting on Smith’s decision to not sign the final communique, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said at the press conference that “everyone has their interest at heart.”
“I respect that she’s concerned about protecting her energy, and that’s her choice,” Ford said. “But I have a little different theory: protect your jurisdiction but country comes first, Canada’s the priority.”
Ford compared Alberta’s energy to Ontario’s auto sector, one of his province’s largest industries. He said tariffs would also affect that industry, but he is willing to make it a tool in the country’s toolbox to respond to tariffs. “Remember one thing: United we stand, divided we fall,” he said. “We need to be united.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau echoed Ford’s comments, saying Trump has “explicitly targeted” Ontario’s auto sector.
“But you don’t hear Doug [Ford] saying, ‘Oh, no matter what, we got to protect [it].’ Yes, he does say that, but it’s not at the expense of everything else,” Trudeau said. “He’s just pointed out that he’s a Canadian first, as much as he’s passionate about Ontario.”
Trudeau added his government will make sure Canada’s response is “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.”
In her statement, Smith urged “our entire nation” to use the U.S. tariff threat as an opportunity to “correct the misguided direction of this country.” She called for support to build infrastructure for exporting Canadian energy, “instead of effectively land locking them and keeping us fully reliant on one primary customer.”
Smith met with Trump over the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. She said she highlighted the “mutual importance of the U.S.-Canadian energy relationship” during their conversations, but saw no sign of Trump wanting to back down from the tariff threats. However, she said she saw interest in the president-elect in buying more oil and gas from Canada.
Smith will be attending Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20. She said she will be making multiple trips to the United States over the next months to talk with U.S. lawmakers and officials to make the case for Canada and discuss the importance of tariff-free trade.
