N.B. braces for thousands of job losses as feds prepare tariff support options, premier says
Susan Holt says the real cost will depend on details of potential tariffs
Premier Susan Holt says the federal government outlined a number of programs to help blunt the impact of U.S. tariffs during a virtual first ministers' meeting Wednesday.
A universal 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods going to the U.S. would cost the province 4,000-6,000 jobs, Holt said, but it's hard to know just how much federal and provincial cash would be needed to respond.
In some cases, because production has moved to the U.S., or "because that hit to demand will just mean that production will have to reduce, shifts will have to reduce and volumes of employees will have to reduce," she said.
"We don't have a dollar figure for exactly how much help the federal government needs to give us as we figure out what tariffs are being put in place, if they're being put in place."
Holt spoke with reporters following Wednesday's meeting to fine tune retaliatory measures should U.S. President Donald Trump follow through with his threat to impose tariffs on Feb. 1. The federal government is also readying some programs to lessen the blow, should it come.
"The federal government came to the table and presented us with — I think it was five or six different things that they could do ... We thought those were positive and interesting but we all want more details," Holt said.
Details on those options remain sparse, she said, but may include adjustments to employment insurance and credit programs for businesses.
However what any of that looks like depends on what comes out of the Oval Office.
"We're still operating in the unknown," she said.
"Right now we still don't know what sectors, we still don't know to what extent, we don't know for how long."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
