Premier David Eby said B.C. is joining the rest of Canada to "stand up" against U.S. tariffs that could come as early as Feb. 1.
"Keep in mind: this is not a fight that we wanted, not a fight that we picked," he said. "In fact, we think this is going to hurt Americans as badly as it does Canadians, but we are going to stand up."
Eby added that B.C. would support federal efforts to respond with "targeted tariffs to make sure that the Americans understand that we will not surrender."
"We will stand up for people in British Columbia, but right across Canada to make sure the Americans are very clear that Canada is not for sale," he said. "We will respond in kind and and they will feel it," he said.
Eby made these comments Tuesday (Jan. 21) in Vancouver, where he used the backdrop of the Port of Vancouver to visually underscore the importance of trade. He said nothing is off the table when it comes to responding to U.S. tariffs. Options include retaliatory tariffs on American-made goods with a focus on products made in Republican-led states. That target would be chosen to underscore the harmful effects of Trump's "bizarre" trade policies on people who had supported him as well as other measures.
Possible province-specific measures include restricting American companies from bidding on government contracts, cutting off electricity during peak-demand points, charging American trucks travelling through B.C. on the way to Alaska and stopping American-made alcohol from being sold in government-owned liquor stores.
Eby said "anything that we can identify to help Americans understand the integrated nature of our economy and the harm that is done to Canadians is actually doing harm to Americans as well" is on the table.
"We are going to use those tools," he added. "They might be tariffs which are at the federal government's level, or they might be non-tariff tools like the ones you listed."
He also raised idea of a travel boycott, when asked whether he thinks Canadians should be taking holidays in the United States.
"(It) feels really strange to say, but I really do think that for Canadians right now, (if) you are planning your March Break vacation, you are planning your summer vacation, if the tariff threat is realized, the deliberate economic attack on families in our province, in our country by (Trump), that we should really be thinking carefully about spending our money in that country.
"We will set up a fight and that includes making decisions about how we spend our money," he said. "We will not spend money in a country that wants to do economic harm to Canadians."
