On Day 1 of Trump's trade war, Danielle Smith held back her fire

Jason Markusoff · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 04, 2025 8:03 PM EST | Last Updated: March 5

On the time Donald Trump dragged Canadians and Americans into a commercialized war, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it's a "very dumb" thing the U.S. president did.

In the words of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, Trump had "just stabbed America's champion person successful the back" and slapped connected a "new American state tax" by tariffing Canadian oil.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford ripped up a $100-million net work woody with Elon Musk's Starlink, said he's acceptable to propulsion a surtax connected energy exports and encouraged different energy-producing provinces to bash the same.

"We request to marque definite America feels the pain," Ford said. 

Manitoba's Wab Kinew had a Mar-a-Lago-dance-floor-sized flag draped from the legislature successful Winnipeg, and helium pledged taxation deferrals for the businesses harmed successful the commercialized war.

Kentucky bourbons and California merlots were yanked disconnected liquor store shelves from seashore to coast, with the unusual exception.

Alberta was 1 of those unusual exceptions.

On a time marked by large reactions to a monolithic economical stroke against Canada, Danielle Smith's connection was comparably tiny and quiet.

She acceptable herself isolated from her peers by not addressing Albertans oregon the Alberta media connected the time a 25 per cent U.S. tariff deed each Canadian exports, but for lipid and state shipments taxed astatine 10 per cent.

Smith was interviewed by U.S. concern transmission CNBC astatine the aforesaid clip that Trudeau was fielding questions aft his code successful Ottawa.

After the interrogation aired the premier's bureau posted her written connection criticizing the U.S. tariffs and promising immoderate benignant of provincial retaliation oregon supportive effect the adjacent day.

She told American TV the tariffs were "so disappointing." If anyone successful her Canadian assemblage recovered that an understatement, she went farther successful the printed statement, calling Trump's enactment "both foolish and a nonaccomplishment successful each regard."

Not rather the headline-grabbing "dumb" remark that Trudeau ripped from a Wall Street Journal editorial, but nor was it concessionary from the premier who had agelong emphasized diplomacy. 

The premier has taken vigor for not ever sticking connected Team Canada arsenic this warfare simmered, but present that it's boiling she struck a enactment of solidarity: "Alberta afloat supports the national effect announced contiguous by the premier minister," she said, successful notation to Ottawa's archetypal $30 cardinal worthy of counter-tariffs connected U.S. products that took effect Tuesday. 

She mentioned successful that missive the imaginable of thousands of occupation losses connected some sides of the border. But she did not straight code Albertans oregon their anxieties — thing of the benignant that Poilievre's code offered: "You are acrophobic close now, and I understand. I privation you to cognize that I volition combat for you."

Smith had, of course, expressed reluctance to speech astir warring backmost oregon retaliating arsenic she spent months connected repeated visits to U.S. politicians, focused connected preventing the economical harm Trump had threatened.

She's had among the astir cross-border trips of immoderate premier since the threats began successful November, adjacent making the travel to Mar-a-Lago to shingle the president's manus a mates times.

"There volition person to beryllium a effect [but] I don't deliberation it's adjuvant to negociate that successful public," Smith said successful January.

Ottawa and different provinces were already done negotiating, and connected Day 1 had already laid retired their archetypal responses to the nonstop tariffs that Trump had, for a month, threatened to use connected Canada by March 4 (and plans which the president had confirmed successful caller days).

Smith stated she'd inactive person to convene her furniture connected Tuesday and Wednesday to find the archetypal signifier of reactive measures — and her counterpart successful the different large petroleum-exporting province, Saskatchewan, said helium would besides request a day.

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi charged the premier "is hiding, desperately trying to trade a program that should person been successful the works since Trump told her to lb sand."

Alberta could person matched the liquor-supply absorption of different provinces. And earlier you tin constituent retired this state has a purely backstage retail system, let's callback that each Alberta income are centralized done Alberta Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis, and AGLC was directed to stop each wholesale purchases of Russian liquor wrong days of Vladimir Putin's penetration of Ukraine.

Nothing came instantly during the opening salvos of this commercialized war, adjacent if different Canadian leaders had already begun shooting.

"I mean, we don't privation to escalate, we don't privation to retaliate, but we person nary prime but to person an adjacent and proportionate response," Smith told CNBC.

It's a acold outcry from Ford's privation to nonstop "pain" connected the state that has present harmed his province's manufacturing assemblage and industries astir the country, including the lipid assemblage that ships astir of its merchandise stateside.

But should anyone person earnestly expected a large pivot from Smith's "don't poke the bear" stance into thing much similar Ford's pugilism, oregon adjacent Poilievre's warring rhetoric? 

Sure, the histrion Mike Myers got a emergence retired of galore Canadians erstwhile helium wore a "Canada is not for sale" T-shirt astatine the extremity of Saturday Night Live, and paid tribute to hockey fable Gordie Howe by gesturing with his elbow.

WATCH | Mike Myers makes patriotic connection connected Saturday Night Live:

And different Canadian leaders had their elbows decidedly retired connected the dreaded Day of the Tariffs, portion Smith did not.

It whitethorn person made Canadians consciousness bully astir their leaders being acceptable to combat for them. But not everyone volition hold that a much stalwart, assertive stance successful nationalist did diplomatic favours for Volodymyr Zelenskyy — adjacent if it did burnish his heroism credentials successful the eyes of galore allies.

The Ukrainian person has present travel backmost with a more conciliatory approach successful hopes of a ceasefire and lasting peace.

Even if it's not emotionally gratifying connected a time erstwhile different leaders flashed choler to bespeak Canadian frustrations, possibly determination is immoderate virtuousness successful patience. Barely 12 hours into the tariffs U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested there's room for Trump to compromise connected his market-sinking tariffs arsenic soon arsenic Wednesday.

But the president himself warned connected societal media that he'll conscionable support escalating tariffs.

Other premiers yanked their U.S. liquor merchandise from shelves successful aboriginal February and unit had to restock days later, erstwhile the threatened tariffs didn't materialize.

This time, they're here, duration and nonstop economical interaction unknown.