As Donald Trump prepares to officially take office with his swearing in on Monday, his threat of 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods, as well as comments about making Canada the “51st state,” have sparked concerns for some in Saskatchewan about what U.S. policy will look like under the incoming president.
“It is an expansionist government,” said Tom McIntosh, a politics and international studies professor at the University of Regina.
“The primary focus at this moment is on dominating their closest neighbours.”
Trump made the threat of tariffs in November, saying they’ll be applied to all imports from Canada and Mexico if the two countries don’t address what he says is a flow of drugs and migrants across the borders.
Saskatchewan farmers are bracing for the potential economic and political consequences if those threats become reality.
The tariffs could have a significant impact on Saskatchewan’s agriculture sector, which exported $6.7 billion worth of goods to the U.S. in 2023, according to the provincial government.
Garth Massie, a sales and marketing manager with Superior Farms Equipment, said that tariffs could affect sales of farming equipment made in Canada.
“Tariffs would make them more expensive to build and less profitable to sell,” Massie said at the Western Canadian Crop Production Show, held in Saskatoon this week.
Our country has to decide what its next steps are. Host Leisha Grebinski explores what that might look like with Tom McIntosh (University of Regina), Loleen Berdahl (Diefenbaker Canada Centre), and Jason Bird (First Nations University of Canada).
Loleen Berdahl, the executive director of the Saskatchewan-based Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, called Trump’s economic approach “economic warfare,” emphasizing the risks of over-reliance on the U.S. market.
“The foundation of our economy is this relationship [with the U.S.],” Berdahl said. “It’s not easy to suddenly retool and shift trade to other partners like the … [European Union] or Australia.”
The U of Regina’s McIntosh used similar language to describe Trump’s proposed policies.
“One of the partners in the North American agreement has decided to declare war on the other two partners,” he said.
Berdahl praised Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe for standing with most of Canada’s other premiers, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to present a largely united front earlier this week.
In a communique signed by 12 of the premiers and Trudeau, the first ministers said they will do all they can to stop Trump from slapping tariffs on Canadian goods.
A note appended to that document stated that “the government of Alberta did not approve the joint statement,” with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s signature absent.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called out Alberta Premier Danielle Smith for refusing to sign a joint statement on Canada’s tariff response. Smith says she opposes using Alberta oil and gas as a bargaining chip.
“Scott Moe has a very good understanding that people in Saskatchewan feel a strong attachment to Canada,” Berdahl said.
McIntosh says it is important for Canada to respond to Trump’s return in unity.
“If Canada doesn’t respond with a unified voice, the impact on our economy and our way of life will be severe.”
