Trump says U.S. doesn't need Canada's oil, gas, vehicle or lumber
Comments made during virtual address at World Economic Forum
As Ottawa promises to retaliate against American trade tariffs, U.S. President Donald Trump has taken a new swipe at Canada.
Trump says the United States does not need oil, gas, vehicles, or lumber imports from his allies to the north.
Trump made the comments Thursday, in his first speech to world leaders since returning to the White House for his second term.
During his virtual address at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, Trump was unwavering on his threat of tariffs while sharing harsh criticisms for Canada.
'Tough to deal with'
"Canada's been very tough to deal with over the years and it's not fair that we should have a $200 billion or $250 billion deficit," Trump said.
"We don't need them to make our cars. And they make a lot of them. We don't need their lumber, because we have our own forests.
"We don't need their oil and gas. We have more than anybody."
The remarks were the first of Trump's four-day-old presidency to global business and political leaders at a time when global markets and Canadian political leaders remain on edge over his plans for sweeping trade penalties on all imported goods.
Trump characterized the trade relationship between the two nations as adversarial and unfair and blamed Canada's import policies for the U.S.'s trade goods deficit.
During his address from the White House, Trump mused over his increasingly protectionist plans for the United States, suggesting that Canada has unfairly profited from its trade relations with the US.
"We're going to be demanding respect from other nations," Trump said.
"We have a tremendous deficit with Canada. We're not going to have that anywhere. We can't do it."
Trump listed the rapid-fire changes he had made since his swearing-in on Monday and promised to reduce inflation with a mix of tariffs, deregulation and tax cuts. He said producers must manufacture their goods in the U.S. or face tariffs.
Trump's comments triggered widespread criticism among political leaders north of the border, many of whom remain divided over how best to defend against the threat of sweeping trade duties.
Alberta responds
The remarks did not alter Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's plea for diplomacy instead of public threats of retaliation against the U.S.
Smith is returning from a five-day mission to Washington D.C., and a personal meeting with Trump at his home in Florida.
A statement from Smith's office reiterated that the premier believes Alberta's energy sector holds the key in ongoing negotiations, that cross-border trade within the oil and gas sectors is critical in "advancing North American energy dominance."
"A U.S. tariff will hurt American and Canadian consumers, and we should be focused on developing our trade relationship through diplomacy, not threats," the statement reads. "In a negotiation, both sides will say all kinds of things and use different tactics."
Jason Kenney, Alberta's premier from 2019 to 2022, described Trump's remarks on closing the border to oil and gas exports as "peculiar," given that one-fifth of crude oil refined in the U.S. comes from Canada. American refineries buy Canadian crude oil cheaply, and export its refined products for a profit.
He noted that Trump previously touted the approval of major cross-border energy projects, favouring construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have carried oil from Alberta to Nebraska.
Kenney said it's regrettable that Trump remains "obsessed" with aiming at a traditional trade ally and introducing policies that would be harmful to American consumers. The president's strategy "simply doesn't add up," Kenney said.
Diplomatic differences
Kenney also questioned how Trump would fulfil a promise to lower gasoline prices by cutting off an affordable source of crude oil.
"A key line in the [Trump] inaugural speech was to 'drill, baby drill' to increase American energy supply," he said.
"Well, they're gonna have to do a lot of drilling to replace the four million barrels a day that comes from Canada."
Kenney said Canada should not rule out retaliatory measures against Trump's new tariffs, but urged federal and provincial leaders this side of the border to remain tactful as talks continue.
Retrofitting American refineries, that are now tailored to process heavy crude oil from the oilsands, "makes no economic sense," said Max Fawcett, lead columnist at the National Observer, a Canadian journalism publication that focuses on climate change reporting.
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In 2023, 97 per cent of Canada's rising volume of crude oil exports went to the U.S., according to the Canada Energy Regulator.
Fawcett's struck by the contrasting approaches Premier Smith is taking toward the federal government's environmental policies and their impact on the oil industry, and the Trump administration's frank intent to ditch Canadian oil, he said.
"The threat is not coming from Ottawa. It is, in fact, coming from Washington — and our premier can start turning her barrels south as opposed to east," Fawcett said.
Trump's impetus may come from his long-held belief that Canadian oil is inferior to the American product, he said.
"We've seen time and time again, people try to bring facts into Trump's feelings," he said. "They don't tend to win out."
Smith's contrarian strategy gamble
Trump's protectionist pivot on oil likely surprised Smith, who was anticipating a co-operative ally in the White House, said Janet Brown, a Calgary-based pollster and political commentator.
She likened the first week of Trump's second presidency to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Albertans and Canadians anxiously waited to see what happened next.
"We're all looking at the Feb. 1 deadline [for the U.S. to impose tariffs]," Brown said. "You've got to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. But any politician would not be doing their job if they weren't taking Trump seriously."
Smith's political trajectory may be leading her to take a more diplomatic approach than the federal government and other Canadian premiers, Brown said.
The Alberta NDP attempted to frame Smith as "dangerous" and "crazy" in the 2023 election campaign, but it didn't stop her — and Smith knows that approach won't stop Trump, she said.
"Even when she ran for leadership here in Alberta for the [United Conservative Party], she took a risky strategy, but that risky strategy allowed her to win big," Brown said.
"She thinks that if she's the one person saying something different, her past would tell her that's a good position to be in."
With files from Reuters