The Canadian Leader Who Isn't Fretting Over Trump
When I look at Alberta, none of our energy resources are tariffed. None of our agriculture products are tariffed. The vast majority of goods crossing the border are [U.S.-Mexico-Canada] agreement compliant. He does have particular issues that he has with some particular industries. When he identifies an area that's a trade irritant, that means it probably is, and trying to find a way to get a resolution is probably the way to get a renegotiated deal.
What's your sense of negotiations at the moment?
Carney understands that it might be difficult to get back to the full tariff-free relationship that we enjoyed before. I don't know what that means. I don't know if that means that there's certain sectors that are going to continue to face a tariff threat, or if there's going to be an across-the-board tariff. I'm not quite sure. I guess we'll find out when we have a chance to talk with him.
Canada did demonstrate some goodwill in removing the Digital Services Tax, which was something that was causing aggravation to the administration, and so I would hope that would have helped to soften the waters so that we would be able to get an agreement on August 1st. I think everyone is still holding out some hope that will happen.
I'm told the president doesn't like the emotional reaction Canada has had in response to his tariffs. You appear to take the emotion out of the negotiations and treat the tariffs more like a business transaction. Do you think the Liberal government and even Ontario Premier Doug Ford have been too emotional at times when responding to the tariffs?
Different people respond in different ways. I think some people are worried about the damage to the relationship. I'm a bit worried about that too. But I also know that we have a longstanding relationship with the Americans that goes back over 100 years, and it's going to last 100 years or more. You don't allow for temporary frustrations and irritations to damage the relationship permanently.
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