Danielle Smith to spend five days in Washington, D.C., for Donald Trump inauguration
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EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s office has released an official itinerary outlining a five-day diplomatic trip to Washington, D.C., including the presidential inauguration on Capitol Hill on Monday.
Beginning Saturday, the province says Smith is to meet with energy industry leaders and elected officials in an effort to promote “an era of partnership.”
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It comes as president-elect Donald Trump threatens to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian imports to the U.S. on his first day in office.
The premier met with the CEO of TC Energy on Saturday to discuss continental energy security.
“Alberta’s resources are the backbone of North American energy, and we’re ready to do more,” Smith wrote on social media. “By expanding exports, we can power economies, create jobs, and strengthen our partnerships across the border.”
Further posts on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, showed the premier attending social events in Washington, D.C., with high-ranking U.S. politicians and insiders.
Smith caused controversy over the past week after refusing to sign off on a joint statement from other premiers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that every countermeasure is on the table.
Smith says Alberta won’t tolerate cutting off energy supply to the U.S. or export tariffs on the province’s energy from Ottawa.
“We just won’t stand for that,” she said at a news conference on Jan. 13 to provide an update on her face-to-face meeting with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort the previous weekend.
She warned Ottawa that it would have a “national unity crisis on (its) hands at the same time as having a crisis with our U.S. partners.”
“Any kind of retaliation that we do on tariffs hurts Canadians,” she said. “I’m hoping that by talking about the importance of energy that we’ll be able to avoid tariffs on every Canadian product.”
The federal government says it’s prepared to hit the U.S. with billions of dollars in retaliatory tariffs, and has already sent multiple ministers to Washington this week, including Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly.
Canada has been a frequent subject of Trump’s rhetoric since he won last November’s presidential election.
The incoming president has goaded Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by calling him “governor,” suggested his friend Wayne Gretzky should run for prime minister, and mused about taking Canada as the 51st state by “economic force.”
In threatening the tariffs, Trump has cited concern about illegal migrants and drugs entering from Canada, the United States’ trade deficit with its northern neighbour, and the need for Canada to meet its NATO alliance spending target of at least two per cent of GDP on national defence.
— With files from Postmedia
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