Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will hold a press conference on the province’s stance in ongoing tariff disputes between Canada and the U.S. She’s expected to speak to reporters in Grande Prairie, 458 kilometres north of Edmonton, at 3:10 p.m. MT on Wednesday. This will be the first time she has spoken in person about the mounting trade war between the two countries. Ottawa is expected to hit the U.S. with dollar-for-dollar counter tariffs on Sept. 8 in response to President Donald Trump’s 50-per-cent tariffs on roughly $28 billion worth of Canadian products. The U.S.-imposed tariffs are expected to affect about $1.5 billion of Alberta exports to the south. Oil and gas and beef cattle – Alberta’s biggest industries – are so far unaffected. Smith had previously released statements on the breakdown of negotiations between the two parties, expressing the need for both governments to get back to the table as soon as possible. She said she appreciated the federal government’s business relief initiatives as Canadians prepare for potentially bumpy economic times and said Alberta was also considering provincial relief measures. The Alberta government took counter-tariffs on Canada’s oil and gas exports off the table, a move criticized by former premier Jason Kenney.
