Furey says energy sector is key in Canadian response to Trump's tariff threat

Andrew Furey joined his fellow premiers in Ottawa Wednesday to say the country's leaders must stand united against U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariff on all Canadian goods.

Trump has been threatening a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports into the United States. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that one possible federal response could be to leverage Canada's oil and gas flow to the U.S.

Furey said Canada's energy sector is a key negotiation piece in a united response by the Canadian government should Trump go ahead with his proposed tariff, but did express some concern.

"As an energy producing province myself, it's certainly not the first move that I would like to see," Furey told CBC News Network from Ottawa.

"We need to be negotiating from a position of strength, a position of sovereignty. And we can't do that unless everything is on the table … I do think it's unwise and premature to take pieces off the table in a game that hasn't even begun yet," Furey said.

WATCH | The CBC's Rosemary Barton and David Cochrane speak with Premier Andrew Furey:

Furey repeats call for a united front following First Minister’s meetings on tariffs

4 hours ago

Duration 6:24

Speaking with CBC’s Rosemary Barton and David Cochrane, Premier Andrew Furey gives his thoughts on the latest First Minister’s meeting. With U.S. President-elect Donald Trump set to take office in less than a week, Canada’s Premiers met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to plan for how to respond to proposed tariffs.

After an hours-long meeting, all premiers — with the exception of one — are united in their stance against Trump's threat of economic aggression. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was the only premier to not sign the federal government's final communique on a united Canadian plan of action.

Smith said in a social media post that the province of Alberta would not agree to export tariffs on Canadian energy nor support a ban on these products.

"We will take whatever actions are needed to protect the livelihoods of Albertans from such destructive federal policies," she wrote in her post on Wednesday evening.

"Certainly nobody wants to lead with the resource that is important in their own economy, me included," Furey said in response. "But that said, we need a united strong front."

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