Hunter supports premier’s proactive approach to cross-border tensions

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Danielle Smith joined a premiers’ trip to Washington, D.C. from Feb. 11 to 13 as part of a Council of the Federation mission. The team of provincial leaders headed south to engage with U.S. lawmakers and industry and reinforce that tariffs on Canadian and U.S. products would harm Canadians, Americans, workers, businesses, and industry on both sides of the border.

 Smith went with a plan to highlight Alberta’s proactive approach to added border security and the prominent role the province plays in delivering energy to the U.S. Prior to the trip, she said, “The past few weeks have marked a pivotal time in the historic partnership that has bridged our two nations for generations. I was, like all Canadians, deeply disappointed by President Donald Trump’s decision to announce damaging tariffs, but I am encouraged by the decision to pause tariffs for 30 days and the progress the pause represents.”

 She said the trip was part of an ongoing effort to de-escalate tensions between the two countries and restore a “mutually beneficial and enduring friendship.”

 A day before the trip at a Feb. 10 Taber town council meeting, local MLA Grant Hunter told council that he was supportive of Smith’s assertiveness. 

“I will say that our premier has done what the federal government should have been doing – going down and speaking and trying to dialog and employ diplomacy with President Trump and his team. She spent two weeks down there at a very critical time. And I think that’s one of the reasons why President Trump, first of all, said that he was going to only do 10 per cent on oil and gas. He recognizes that the majority of the feedstock that’s going into the United States for oil and gas is coming from Alberta, 4.3 million barrels a day.”

 Hunter said the heavy stock is used to make diesel in the U.S. and Trump wants to jump start his economy. 

“She did a very good job, in my opinion, of telling him, you put a tariff on this, it’s going to affect your ability to jump start your economy.”

 He gave Smith credit in part for convincing Trump to temporarily relent and push the tariffs down the road. Nevertheless, last week Trump went ahead and signed a subsequent executive order to put tariffs on steel and aluminum, which Hunter said was less about Canada and more about China.

 “If you take a look at it, the fight is really not with Canada, it’s with China. I just think that because of the toxic relationship between Trudeau and Trump, we have a big bullseye on our back now, and I’m disappointed in that, because all Canadians will be in trouble because of it.”

 Hunter expects the tariffs to arrive sooner or later. “When it comes to things like potatoes, from what I understand, talking with some of the potato producers and companies, they’ve said that they’re probably going to either try to pass on some of that cost, or they’re going to absorb that cost. So they recognize, and it’s not just potatoes, it’s the sugar industry, it’s all of the produce that we have coming out of here, they recognize that if they have a disruption in the supply of products, that they could lose their their market share, and they don’t want to lose that market share. It took them a long time to be able to develop that market share.”

 A scenario in which companies choose to absorb the price of tariffs rather than passing along the cost to consumers seems unlikely.

 “We’re concerned about job losses, we’re concerned about GDP growth, or GDP drop. But I think, generally speaking, because we send so much raw material to the States, I think that we’ll be okay through this,” Hunter said. “But I still don’t know. I don’t have a crystal ball, so I don’t know how bad it’s going to get.”

 As for the contingent of premiers who visited D.C. last week, the reports were short on specifics and reassurances. Apparently, the group was invited to the White House, but there was no mention of actual face time with the president. Instead, they met with the deputy chief of staff and a few others who spoke on Trump’s behalf.