Canada’s first ministers have agreed on a deadline for interprovincial trade rules, as leaders across the country grapple with new pressure brought by the trade war instigated by U.S. President Donald Trump.
On Wednesday evening, the premiers issued a joint statement promising to create credentialing rules that would allow trained professionals to work anywhere in Canada, and to review exemptions to interprovincial free trade, both by June 1.
Earlier in the day, B.C. Premier David Eby talked tough on Trump’s punishing tariffs.
“Pain caused to Canadians will be met with a fierce and strong response,” he said.
So far, only Ontario has been given any reprieve, with a 30-day pause on tariffs on the province’s auto industry, offered after Premier Doug Ford threatened to tax electricity exports to the U.S.
“I spoke to the prime minister, we’re on the same page – zero tariffs, and we are not going to budge,” Ford told reporters Wednesday.
Stewart Prest, a political scientist at the University of British Columbia, suggested a tough response is not only warranted, but necessary.
“The only thing the American president and this administration responds to are displays of resistance and strength,” Prest said.
B.C. has ordered alcohol made in so-called “red states” that voted for Trump be removed immediately from provincial liquor store shelves, and priority be given to Canadian companies for government contracts – but Opposition Leader John Rustad argued the government isn’t in a position to bargain hard with Trump.
“We depend so much on the Americans for the electricity we consume, for the gas that we use, the food that we eat, for health-care services,” said Rustad.
Eby suggested the reprieve in Ontario is driven by concern voiced Tuesday by U.S. automakers, not threats of Canadian retaliation
“Trump has realised in fewer than 24 hours how integrated the two economies are, and I expect more and more announcements about exemptions,” Eby added.
The province’s next priority is removing trade barriers within Canada, as the first minister also met to discuss last week and Tuesday.
In their joint statement, the premiers said they are facing a “pivotal moment” that requires “bold and united action.”
“We must increase our economic resilience, reduce dependence on one market, and strengthen our domestic economy for the benefit of Canadian workers and businesses now and in the future,” they said. “One key step is to make it easier for Canadians to do business with each other from coast to coast to coast.”
Meanwhile, Eby acknowledged that B.C.’s reliance on the States, including for our electricity at times, means contingency planning usually reserved for natural disasters has shifted to tariffs
“Unfortunately, now it’s contingency funding around man-made disaster by the president of the United States,” he said.
