REGINA - Premier Scott Moe is considering next steps to address the threat by President-elect Donald Trump to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods.
“I don't think any job, any industry would be untouched with a 25 per cent tariff from the U.S. on all Canada products,” said Moe, who pointed to Saskatchewan doing 60 per cent of its export trade with the Americans.
However, Moe said there will be efforts to reach out to the Trump administration, in the wake of Trump’s post on social media Monday of his plans to impose a tariff over border security concerns.
“We'll be working alongside our federal government in outreach that they have with the incoming Trump administration. We'll be working, and have already started working, with our Council of Federation tables, as well as our federal, provincial, territorial tables at the ministerial level, where we can to advocate and use our collective resources and contacts. And the Premiers are already discussing how and when we might arrive in Washington to… support the national engagement efforts, but also to do what we can as a provincial representative body.
“And third, I would say that we have worked quite hard over the last number of years at cultivating relationships, not only in the U.S. but around the world as a province. And we're going to use the contacts that we have.”
Moe confirmed he’s reached out to Doug Burgum, incoming Secretary of the Interior who has been Governor of North Dakota. He alsp pointed to “many connections collectively that we have across the different levels of government.”
“We need to work together when it comes to our engagement with the incoming Trump administration and all of the folks that are working alongside him. And we need to work together, I'd say collaboratively, to ensure that we have and are working towards that energy security, that food security, and I would include manufacturing security across North America in that case.”
Moe is scheduled to join a meeting of the provincial premiers as well as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss the Trump tariff threat. One item he plans to propose to the Prime Minister is to address the concerns President-elect Trump has surrounding border security when it comes to drugs, immigration, and other issues.
“One of the things that I'll suggest to the Prime Minister is to increase the border security initiatives that we have through the CBSA, and maybe even bring the CBSA under an arm of the military, and increase some of the supports there markedly, which would also increase our percentage of defence funding, our military funding as well,” Moe told reporters.
“I think that might be a way for us to, you know, really work collaboratively to work together with our American neighbours, but also ensuring that we do have a secure border, not only at the 49th parallel, but at any airport or wherever that might be. All Canadians, I think, would support that. We don't want drugs inflowing or outflowing across our borders. In our ports is another point where I think there could be some increased security as well.”
Moe added that he believed Canadians would “largely support an increased investment in border security.”
Opposition Leader Carla Beck also expressed her concerns about the threat of a 25 per cent tariff.
“It's devastating,” Beck said to reporters at the Legislature Tuesday. “A 25% tariff to the Saskatchewan economy in particular, an economy that is heavily reliant on exports, would be devastating. I think this has to be a top priority for not only the Canadian government, but for provincial governments, governments right across this country.”
She added that on this issue “this has to be all hands on deck. This has to be a high, high priority, because the impact of a 25 per cent tariff, again, would be devastating at a time when, frankly, the Saskatchewan economy in many sectors in this province could not withstand.”
When pressed about why this was not raised in Question Period as their first question, Beck defended her party’s focus on bringing an emergency motion to suspend the gas tax.
“By far, the number one thing that we heard on the doorstep in this campaign was around the cost of living and the need for some relief for Saskatchewan people,” said Beck. But she reiterated the need to address the tariff issue with longer-term solutions.
“This can't be a quick, one-time measure. This has to be about getting to the table, working with industry, working with governors in the U.S., working with officials right across the country and across borders to ensure that we don't see this kind of unpredictability,” said Beck.
