Could Canada put tolls on Alaska truck travel if trade war reignites?
B.C. premier has floated idea of charging commercial vehicles travelling north if U.S. tariffs imposed
When B.C. Premier David Eby ordered U.S. alcohol off of shelves and started diverting critical minerals meant for the United States last weekend, there was one threat he didn't follow through on: making it harder for products destined for Alaska to travel through B.C.
But his office says the idea of imposing fines on truck traffic going through the province is still on the table should U.S. President Donald Trump carry out his threat to start putting tariffs on Canadian goods.
Eby first floated the idea at a news conference on Jan. 16 as he listed the ways his province works with its southern — and northern — neighbours.
"We allow American companies to bid on government contracts," he said. "We allow American alcohol products to sit side-by-side with B.C. products. We allow American trucks to travel through B.C. to go up to Alaska to deliver goods without any charges."
But, he said, if Trump wasn't going to follow the rules of international trade, there was no reason B.C. should beholden to old standards, either.
Eby wasn't alone in threatening higher prices for U.S. trucks in Canada: In Nova Scotia, Premier Tim Houston said he would be doubling tolls for commercial vehicles entering his province through the Cobequid Pass. And on Monday, prior to Trump agreeing to a 30-day delay on his tariff threat, Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai told CBC News many of his constituents wanted to see similar measures take place there, as well.
"We've seen Yukoners reach out and say, 'You should be doing something on the Alaska Highway,'" he said. "British Columbia might be looking to do something on the Alaska Highway, so we're looking to work in conjunction to understand what that would look like."
The Alaska Highway is, in fact, a Canadian one. With its origin point in Dawson Creek, B.C., it extends more than 2,000 kilometres through Whitehorse, before ending just southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska.
It was built in the Second World War by the U.S. Corps of Engineers after the bombing of Pearl Harbour as a way to ensure the United States had land access to Alaska, in order to serve as a defence against Pacific incursions. It was funded by the United States, with Canadian leaders allowing the build on the condition that it be turned over to Canada following the war.
The highway remains a popular tourist route and the only way for goods shipped by truck to reach Alaska.
But that doesn't mean Canada could easily block it off — or that it would want to.
Pillai pointed out that, unlike Nova Scotia, there are no toll booths set up in the Yukon that could be used to impose higher fees on traffic. The same goes for most highways in B.C.
Beyond that, he said, there is still a strong relationship between the Yukon and Alaska. That includes a recent commitment from the U.S. state to spend more than $40 million improving a stretch of the Alaska Highway on the Yukon side of the border that could be at risk should fines be imposed.
Then there's the question of retaliation: while U.S. truck traffic is currently able to travel through Canada to Alaska duty-free, the same agreement is in place for most Mexican goods coming to Canada the same way, said Andrea Bjorklund, a McGill University professor and an expert in international commercial law.
Having duties imposed on items going to and from Mexico could further harm the Canadian economy as Mexico is Canada's third-largest trading partner, including more than $2 billion worth of fruits and vegetables coming into the country every year.
Alaska, meanwhile, is not actually as dependent on trucks from Canada as some might think, with most of its goods arriving by sea, rather than road.
In fact, according to numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Transport Statistics, shared by University of Alaska economics professor Mike Jones, trucking only represents about one percent of cargo entering the state every year, with the bulk coming through the Port of Alaska in Anchorage, primarily from U.S. destinations.
It is China that is Alaska's most important international trading partner, with Canada coming anywhere from third to fifth, depending on how it is measured.
That doesn't surprise Ken Coates, a historian focused on Canada's North, based at Yukon University. He recalls visiting Fairbanks, Alaska, in the 1970s and discovering most people didn't know where the Yukon was — instead, he said, their primary point of reference for the outside world was Seattle, Wash.
"It's kind of a distant cousinship," he said. "You know, second cousins twice removed on Mom's side."
That's not to say Alaskans aren't paying attention to the deterioration of relationships with Canada: many political leaders in the state have expressed alarm about the possibility of tariffs, including Republican Senator Cathy Giessel who has been working on joint resolutions opposing economic sanctions being placed on Canada.
"I oppose these tariffs because we are neighbours," she said. "We are partners. It's not only economic, but it's security and defence, as well."
She also pointed out that there are key goods from Canada that Alaska is unlikely to get from elsewhere, including timber for home building and the possible future import of B.C. natural gas as current heating sources run low.
And ties between the two are growing: Canada has been identified by Alaska as one of its fastest-growing economic partners, and last year, Yukon and Alaska signed an accord taking note of their close ties.
Then there are the Alaskan border towns, places like Haines, Hyder and Skagway, where residents frequently cross into Canada for necessities like food, health care and medicine.
Orion Hanson, who runs a construction business and sits on Skagway's local government, said he and many others are reliant on Canada for everything from fresh produce to building supplies.
"I don't expect Washington to understand the logistical difficulties of living in a small, remote place in the corner of Alaska," he said.
"This tariff will just make it more expensive to be here and more difficult and challenging to be a citizen of Skagway."
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With files from Elyn Jones and Kate Kyle