Relief and uncertainty both mark Alberta industry reaction to U.S. tariff announcement

Andrew Jeffrey · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 03, 2025 11:39 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

The long-awaited rollout of the caller U.S. tariff policy, an juncture President Donald Trump marked with the moniker "Liberation Day," yet deed connected Wednesday.

After bracing for the worst, immoderate manufacture leaders are feeling relieved — and others, inactive uncertain.

Trump said the U.S. would use a 10 per cent minimum baseline tariff connected each goods coming into the U.S. from a agelong database of countries, with rates rising overmuch higher for immoderate nations. But that database did not see Canada because of antecedently announced tariffs that volition proceed to apply.

That means tariffs placed connected Canadian alloy and aluminum remain, portion a levy connected Canadian automobiles went into effect arsenic of midnight connected Wednesday. As well, tariffs connected goods that don't comply with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which was negotiated successful 2018, are inactive successful place.

Adam Legge, president of the Business Council of Alberta, noted that Canada seemed to dodge the worst-case script that immoderate feared, astatine slightest for now.

"For now, we're really optimistic that we are not successful the aforesaid script we thought we were January 20, and past February 2 and past March 4," Legge said, referring to erstwhile U.S. tariff deadlines that had loomed implicit Canada.

Some industries, similar the vigor sector, are already mostly CUSMA-compliant, Legge said. And tariff threats person encouraged much businesses to capable retired the indispensable paperwork to go compliant with the escaped commercialized statement successful caller months, helium added.

Looking ahead, Legge stressed helium hopes the Canadian national authorities pauses to crippled the champion way guardant connected this issue, noting that immoderate businesses are concerned retaliatory tariffs could beryllium adjacent much damaging than levies imposed by the U.S.

Instead, helium advised letting self-inflicted wounds from U.S. tariffs transportation the state astir however damaging the argumentation is — and fortify Canada's ain system successful the meantime.

"The narration is strained and challenged, we're going to person to renegotiate [CUSMA], but the amended and much important semipermanent strategy for Canada is, let's get our economical docket together," Legge said. 

"Let's not respire a suspiration of alleviation and accidental we dodged a bullet. Let's proceed to determination guardant for Canada for the champion involvement of the things we should person been doing for the past 10 years anyway."

Industries hoping for much stability

Canada's cattle manufacture was 1 assemblage heavy astatine hazard owed to tariffs, due to the fact that of how integrated it is with the U.S. arsenic products often necessitate aggregate trips backmost and distant implicit the borderline earlier beef reaches store shelves.

Dennis Laycraft, executive vice president of the Canadian Cattle Association, said he's relieved that the industry is mostly already CUSMA-compliant. 

Now, the champion happening for the manufacture is to determination past the uncertainty that tariff threats person created, and return to a much mean concern narration with their partners astir North America.

He added that the sector is already moving connected diversifying commercialized markets, with Canada Beef precocious taking a month-long travel visiting respective countries successful the Indo-Pacific portion to sermon strengthening commercialized relations.

"We surely spot the accidental to turn our commercialized there, and each those countries are being deed by tariffs. There's an involvement successful doing much concern with Canada," Laycraft said.

Greg Sears, a husbandman northbound of Grande Prairie who's a manager connected the Alberta Grains board, said he'd beryllium blessed to spot CUSMA proceed fixed the certainty and stableness it provides farmers.

But stableness is not what the past mates months of U.S.-Canada commercialized relations has provided. He said that feeling didn't alteration Wednesday for immoderate farmers.

"If we learned thing [else] implicit the past mates of months, it's that the lone happening that's definite is the uncertainty that's happening close now. I deliberation we're hopeful with the astir caller announcement, but the devil volition beryllium successful the details," Sears said. 

"Things can alteration astatine immoderate time, arsenic we've seen."

Paul Colborne, president and CEO of the Calgary-based oil-focused exploration and accumulation institution Surge Energy, hopes that Canada tin present usage diplomacy to negociate amended with the U.S. and rebuild their relationship.

But helium said he's disappointed to spot what the relationship betwixt the 2 countries has become.

"I consciousness saddened that our narration with our 120-year trading partner, closest state and the biggest, strongest system successful the satellite that benefits america greatly is being handled this mode that we got to tariffs and countervailing tariffs," Colborne said.

Contrast successful federal, provincial response

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith touted Wednesday's announcement arsenic a triumph for her state and country, noting it appears the U.S. volition uphold CUSMA until a newly-elected national authorities tin renegotiate a commercialized statement successful the spring.

"This is precisely what I person been advocating for from the U.S. medication for months," Smith wrote successful an authoritative connection connected Wednesday, adding there's inactive enactment to beryllium done connected removing oregon reducing different antecedently announced tariffs.

After pausing his national predetermination run to conscionable with his furniture successful Ottawa, Liberal Leader Mark Carney noted that the U.S. had fundamentally changed the planetary trading strategy connected Wednesday.

He besides said the White House indicated it inactive whitethorn present tariffs successful "strategic sectors" similar pharmaceuticals, lumber oregon semiconductors.

He said Canada planned to combat U.S. tariffs with counter-measures.

"We're successful a concern wherever determination is going to beryllium an interaction connected the U.S. system which volition physique with time," Carney said. "The bid of measures volition straight impact millions of Canadians."