en
Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--With tariffs on imports of Canadian goods into the U.S. set to take effect on Tuesday, re-elected Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would protect the provincial economy with his own trade response.
Early elections put Ford back in the premiership for a third consecutive term. A member of the Progressive Conservative Party, Ford's re-election came about a week before Canadians pick a replacement for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of the Labor Party.
Trudeau announced his resignation in January, pending a replacement, amid a heated row over how to respond to tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump. A 10% tariff on all U.S. imports of Canadian energy went into effect on Tuesday, as did a 25% tariff on all other goods.
At his re-election speech last week, Ford said Trump is mistaken to think he can rattle Canadian unity with economic threats.
"He thinks he can divide and conquer, pit region against region. Donald Trump doesn't know what we know," he was quoted by The Associated Press as saying. "Let me be clear. Canada will never, ever be the 51st state. Canada is not for sale."
Trump had mused Canada would be better off as a part of the federal union.
Nearly $6.3 billion worth of Canadian goods cross the border each day. In a statement on the potential tariff threat, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that a tariff-heavy agenda could backfire in the long-term by erasing any of the gains made in the post-pandemic fight against inflation.
Tariffs would cut both ways. They would create a discount for Western Canadian Select (WCS), the Canadian benchmark for the price of oil, and dampen production. But because many U.S. refineries are tailored to process the heavy type of oil found largely in Canada, energy companies and consumers alike would take a hit due to the import taxes.
Ford in Ontario had suggested a tit-for-tat trade response that would include tariffs on cross-border electricity. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, for her part, said in an annual budget statement last week that her province was a destination for investments.
"But we are once again in challenging times," she said. "Global trade uncertainty, geopolitical unrest and volatile oil prices add risk to our fiscal outlook."
Nearly all the crude oil exported from Canada heads to its southern neighbor. The 4 million barrels of oil delivered each day accounts for 60% of total U.S. crude oil exports. About 87% of that comes from Alberta.
Provincial leaders have called on the federal government to do more to break the North American landlock by expanding east-west trade corridors. Canadian pipeline company Trans Mountain is looking to expand its oil network that runs to the West Coast for exports. Recent expansions to the crude oil pipeline from Alberta could open new trade arteries to Asia, as do liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in British Columbia.
Tariffs on steel and aluminum are on the table as well, tariffs that would be disruptive to the automotive sector as vehicles cross the border several times before completion. Building up North American midstream networks would get more expensive as well due to tariffs on pipeline steel.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
Early elections put Ford back in the premiership for a third consecutive term. A member of the Progressive Conservative Party, Ford's re-election came about a week before Canadians pick a replacement for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of the Labor Party.
Trudeau announced his resignation in January, pending a replacement, amid a heated row over how to respond to tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump. A 10% tariff on all U.S. imports of Canadian energy went into effect on Tuesday, as did a 25% tariff on all other goods.
At his re-election speech last week, Ford said Trump is mistaken to think he can rattle Canadian unity with economic threats.
"He thinks he can divide and conquer, pit region against region. Donald Trump doesn't know what we know," he was quoted by The Associated Press as saying. "Let me be clear. Canada will never, ever be the 51st state. Canada is not for sale."
Trump had mused Canada would be better off as a part of the federal union.
Nearly $6.3 billion worth of Canadian goods cross the border each day. In a statement on the potential tariff threat, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that a tariff-heavy agenda could backfire in the long-term by erasing any of the gains made in the post-pandemic fight against inflation.
Tariffs would cut both ways. They would create a discount for Western Canadian Select (WCS), the Canadian benchmark for the price of oil, and dampen production. But because many U.S. refineries are tailored to process the heavy type of oil found largely in Canada, energy companies and consumers alike would take a hit due to the import taxes.
Ford in Ontario had suggested a tit-for-tat trade response that would include tariffs on cross-border electricity. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, for her part, said in an annual budget statement last week that her province was a destination for investments.
"But we are once again in challenging times," she said. "Global trade uncertainty, geopolitical unrest and volatile oil prices add risk to our fiscal outlook."
Nearly all the crude oil exported from Canada heads to its southern neighbor. The 4 million barrels of oil delivered each day accounts for 60% of total U.S. crude oil exports. About 87% of that comes from Alberta.
Provincial leaders have called on the federal government to do more to break the North American landlock by expanding east-west trade corridors. Canadian pipeline company Trans Mountain is looking to expand its oil network that runs to the West Coast for exports. Recent expansions to the crude oil pipeline from Alberta could open new trade arteries to Asia, as do liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in British Columbia.
Tariffs on steel and aluminum are on the table as well, tariffs that would be disruptive to the automotive sector as vehicles cross the border several times before completion. Building up North American midstream networks would get more expensive as well due to tariffs on pipeline steel.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
