Article content
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith visited U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday evening, National Post has learned.
Article content
Smith’s office declined to confirm whether she actually spoke with Trump.
Trump, who has escalated his rhetoric around Canada, has promised, on day one, to institute 25 per-cent-tariffs on Canadian exports to the United States and has mused repeatedly about annexing Canada by “economic force,” referring to the 49th parallel as “artificial.”
Article content
In roughly a week, Trump will be sworn in as president of the United States, following his win in the November federal election.
His bullish talk on trade has coincided with a political crisis at the federal level in Canada: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who himself has been doing a circuit of U.S. media after attending the funeral of former president Jimmy Carter, announced his resignation last Monday, kicking off a race to elect a new leader of the Liberal party and leading to the perception that at a time of heightened tension with the United States, Canada has a rudderless government.
Recommended from Editorial
Article content
The premier of Alberta — the provincial economy being heavily dependent on oil-and-gas exports to the United States — has been on a hearts-and-minds tour of the United States in recent weeks. In December, Smith attended the Western Governors’ Association, boosting Alberta’s profile as a major exporter to the U.S. energy industry and explaining that tariffs on Alberta oil will make energy and gasoline more expensive for Americans. Smith took time away from a family vacation to visit Mar-a-Lago.
Smith has also appeared on Fox News regularly and is planning to attend Trump’s inauguration ceremony on Jan. 20. Along with Ontario Premier Doug Ford — who has spoken regularly with U.S. media — Smith has become one of Canada’s most prominent boosters as Trudeau’s leadership faced internal Liberal party challenges.
It’s not entirely clear whether Trump will follow through on his threats to enact steep tariffs against all Canadian goods, including energy. However, if he does, it’s expected to cause major problems for the Alberta — and Canadian — economy. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce estimates that 25-per-cent tariffs would shrink Canada’s GDP by about 2.6 per cent. In Alberta, the Trump tariffs could be expected to lead to 52,000 job losses, boosting unemployment to 7.8 per cent in the province and, potentially, push the province into a recession.
Article content
It all comes as the Canadian government contemplates retaliatory tariffs against the United States. Ford has also mused that Canada should shut off energy exports to the United States in a Hail Mary negotiating tactic. In addition to western oil and gas, central Canada exports a considerable amount of hydroelectric power to the northeastern United States. Though Ford has since backed away from this position, Smith has staunchly opposed such measures.
“Under no circumstances will Alberta agree to cut off oil and gas exports,” Smith told reporters last month. “We don’t support tariffs. I don’t support tariffs on Canadian goods, and I don’t support tariffs on U.S. goods because all it does is make life more expensive for everyday Canadians and everyday Americans.”
In November, Trudeau also travelled to Mar-a-Lago to meet with the incoming president, a meeting which Trump described as “very productive.” In late December, two senior Trudeau ministers, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, travelled to West Palm Beach, where Mar-a-Lago is located, to meet with members of the Trump transition team.
The Trump transition team has yet to respond to National Post’s request for comment about Smith’s presence at Mar-a-Lago.
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our politics newsletter, First Reading, here.
Share this article in your social network
