Premier David Eby said British Columbia is shouldering a disproportionate economic burden from Canada’s trade war with the U.S., and he’ll be calling for “basic fairness” at next week’s First Minister’s meeting.
Canada’s provincial and territorial leaders are set to meet in Huntsville, Ontario, July 21-23, with tariff threats from the U.S. at the top of the agenda.
U.S. President Donald Trump recently threatened to bring a 35 per cent tariff on all goods not included in the Canada-US-Mexico trade agreement.
“The tariff responses that have been imposed by the federal government on the U.S. in response to attacks by the president have fallen disproportionately on British Columbians,” said Eby Thursday.
He pointed to estimates that the federal government’s counter-tariffs apply to roughly 20 per cent of the value of B.C.’s total imported goods from the U.S.
Prime Minister Mark Carney recently announced tariff rate quotas on steel from countries that have a free trade deal with Canada, with exceptions for the U.S. and Mexico.
The federal government said the move comes in response to both U.S. tariffs on steel and global steel overproduction, and will help prevent the Canadian market from being overwhelmed with cheap steel.
B.C. is a major exporter of metallurgical coal, which is used in the production of steel from iron ore. About 30 per cent is exported to China.
Eby said he wants to ensure that B.C. gets “the same level of attention…on softwood lumber, as Ontario gets on the auto parts sector” and that “we get the same amount of attention on capital projects as Alberta is currently getting in relation to their proposals.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s office said in a statement the premiers will also discuss emergency management, energy security, sovereignty and national security, Canada-U.S. relations, international and internal trade, labour mobility, immigration, health, and public safety.
A closing news conference is planned for the afternoon of July 23.
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