Alberta Premier Rejects Oil Export Tax in US Trade Dispute

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith rejected using the province's oil and gas exports as leverage in an escalating trade dispute with the United States. She warned that taxing or cutting off energy exports could cause serious economic damage on both sides of the border.

Smith said Canada should instead 'double down' on diplomacy with U.S. officials and avoid further escalation. 'I understand the need to respond strongly to these tariffs, I cannot think of a more disastrous policy decision than cutting off or taxing Alberta's oil to the United States,' she said.

Alberta sends the majority of its oil exports to the United States, with approximately four million barrels exported daily. Smith predicted that a 50-per-cent Canadian tariff on these exports could prompt an American tariff in response.

She warned that an American tariff of between 50 and 100 per cent on Canadian oil and gas products would result in the loss of about half a million jobs at a minimum, mostly in Alberta, but also hundreds of thousands of jobs in Ontario and Quebec.