British Columbia Premier David Eby says his government is introducing new legislation to remove trade barriers with other provinces while also levying fees on American commercial trucks transiting the province on their way to Alaska.
The premier announced the proposed legislation Thursday in response to the economic threat of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods entering that country.
Speaking to reporters in front of the B.C. legislature, which had been draped in a large Canadian flag for the occasion, Eby said the new legislation would also give his government the flexibility to “respond rapidly” to executive orders from U.S. President Donald Trump as they arise.
Trump followed through on his threat to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods and a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy as of midnight Tuesday. But the White House appeared poised to grant Canada a partial, one-month reprieve from the fees just moments before Eby spoke Thursday.
“Trump thinks he can bring us to our knees by threatening tariffs,” Eby said. “What he is seeing is that Canadians are standing tall.”
The Eby government’s tariff-response legislation, which is expected to be introduced in the legislature in the coming days, is intended to alleviate the economic impact from the on again, off again tariffs.
The proposed legislation includes measures that would allow the province to apply tolls and fees to U.S. commercial trucks bound for Alaska, and would mandate that all low-carbon fuel additives in gasoline and diesel are produced in Canada.
‘Unprecedented attack’
Eby said his government is working to diversify markets for B.C. products to become less reliant on American markets, regardless of whether or not the threatened tariffs are in place.
“We will never again put ourselves in the position of being so dependent on the United States,” Eby vowed.
“We need to structurally change the way we do business within the country.”
The province has already removed liquor from parts of the U.S. controlled by Trump’s Republican party from B.C. liquor store shelves.
“My inclination is, no, the products stay off the shelf,” Eby said Thursday in response to the pending tariff reprieve.
“They’re not going back on the shelf until the threat is gone, and our actions and our responses will not stop until the threat is gone.”
The B.C. government is also working to prioritize domestic producers in all areas of government procurement, directing Crown corporations to favour B.C. and Canadian suppliers for everything they buy.
The retaliatory moves are part of a larger Canadian response to the U.S. tariffs, which includes reciprocal tariffs of 25 per cent on $30 billion worth of goods imported from the U.S.
The White House signalled Thursday it would pause tariffs on some Canadian imports that comply with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement.
In response, federal Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc announced that Canada’s plan to impose a second round of retaliatory tariffs on $125 billion worth of American goods would not proceed until April 2.
“The White House started a trade war we didn’t want, and we must answer with strength,” Eby said.
“We are responding to this unprecedented attack with several targeted measures and in the coming weeks we will arm ourselves with even more tools as next steps to fend off a sustained economic aggression.”