Edmonton mayor calls Trump tariffs 'unjust' as city holds its economic breath

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While tariffs by the United States were put on hold for 30 days Monday, the threat continues to loom large with Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi calling them “unjust” and warning of the potential impacts to Canadian cities.

“The (proposed) tariffs imposed by the U.S. are unjust, there is no logical reason for them. They’re going to hurt our workers, our economy, jobs and prosperity, and they’re also going to harm American jobs and American businesses — this is not a win-win situation for anyone involved,” said Sohi.

Following through on a statement made in his inaugural address, United States President Donald Trump was due to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian exports beginning Tuesday, but after discussions with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday the tariffs will be “paused” for 30 days. While the tariffs mightn’t have started yet, Sohi discussed his issues at city hall on Monday before the pause was announced.

“I am deeply concerned what it can do to harm our businesses and our communities and workers. I will be convening a meeting of local business leaders as well as our economic development agencies to see what we can do and how we can work together to mitigate the impact,” said Sohi.

The mayor encouraged Edmontonians to buy locally to help support Edmonton businesses while expressing his issues with the tariffs and their consequences on affordability.

“This is going to make people’s lives more unaffordable at a time people are really struggling with affordability. I don’t understand the logic.”

Sohi reached out to the prime minister’s office and the premier, and is “pleased” to know that everyone is working and standing together as part of a “Team Canada” approach. He will be heading to Ottawa later in the week to meet with other big-city mayors.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith issued a statement Monday afternoon celebrating the pause on tariffs, saying “diplomacy has won the day.”

“I once again call on our federal government officials and fellow premiers to de-escalate rhetoric, abandon any non-tariff measures for the time being, and turn our efforts entirely to advocacy and good faith negotiation,” Smith said.

“There are so many win-win solutions on trade and security between our two nations. Let us turn this crisis into an opportunity to find them for the benefit of Canadians and Americans.”

The devil is in the details: Edmonton Global

Edmonton Global CEO Malcom Bruce said the devil would be in the details for how Edmonton businesses can expect to impacted by the tariffs, but summarized the potential consequences.

“So, the direct impact for our individual businesses will be potential supply chain issues accessing product or selling product, and also around job losses and space. If our dollar starts to slide, that means that everything is going to be much more expensive,” said Bruce.

“The first thing I’m worried about is deals that have already been closed.”

Bruce said with the uncertainty of impacts on either side of the border, the benefits of certain deals for companies in the Edmonton area, or American companies operating in Canada, may have changed.

As a “foreign direct investment and international business development agency,” Edmonton Global advocates for the Edmonton region on the international stage. Bruce said there’s opportunities for further international partners as the relationship with the United States has taken a hit.

“We have already diversified the markets that we go into,” said Bruce, pointing to the expansion of economic ties to the Asia-Pacific region.

“We’re going to continue to focus more heavily on them and really advocate for quicker build-out of infrastructure.”

He highlighted that 90 per cent of Alberta’s trade with the U.S. is energy, emphasizing the need to work with international partners to export Alberta’s products.

“The key for us, we’ve got products we can move, but energy is the money maker.”

Bruce also brought up the need to reduce interprovincial trade barriers — a point that has been discussed widely since the onset of the threat of tariffs.

“Let’s knock all those down.”

As Canadians look to operate more co-operatively to help insulate the country from the full weight of the proposed tariffs, Edmonton recently became home to a deal connecting the east and west of the country as the National Bank of Canada finalized its acquisition of the Canadian Western Bank on Monday.

The $5-billion deal was official on Monday following years of interest from the Montreal-based commercial bank.

“This is a historic day for us because this is our first day together, and it’s at a time of turmoil, which makes it also very interesting. And I think that together, we’re going to move forward and create great things,” said National Bank CEO Laurent Ferreira.

Even with the excitement of the acquisition, the threat of the tariffs cast a shadow over the deal, but Ferreira said it is important for Canada not to panic.

“When there’s a crisis, you take the blow, you adapt, and then you build a stronger economy, and that’s what we need to do. And maybe this is a wake-up call for our country to start building alternative routes, for our energy, for our minerals, for our expertise,” he said.

“This has brought our country together. And I think provinces need to work together on trade barriers between ourselves, and start building an east-west economy that’s going to be stronger and more resilient.”

Like Mexico, the tariffs will be paused for 30 days as Canada and the United States work together on key issues regarding border security.

zdelaney@postmedia.com