Before US President Donald Trump ended trade negotiations with Canada on Thursday night, the premiers clashed over which industries besieged by tariffs should get priority.
With Ontario’s auto industry pitted against the prairie canola industry, and BC expressing concern that the timber industry is not getting the attention it deserves, Team Canada seemed increasingly divided.
Trump’s latest actions have resulted in a more united front across provincial borders. But as tariffs persist, so do underlying tensions.
Here’s a breakdown of the industries most threatened by tariffs in each province and what premiers are saying as Canada tries to negotiate new trade relationships.
British Columbia
British Columbia Premier David Eby made headlines earlier this month when he suggested the federal government is not prioritizing the timber industry.
“When Ontario steelworkers have problems in their jobs… it’s treated as a national emergency, and rightly so,” Eby said at an Oct. 14 news conference.
“What we ask today is… that the same sense of emergency be shared by the forestry sector of this country.”
Eby made those comments after the Trump administration increased lumber tariffs by 10 percentage points on top of the existing 35 percent tariff.
Although British Columbia’s biggest export to the United States is energy and raw minerals, wood products are a “very close second,” according to Trevor Tombe, an economics professor at the University of Calgary.
The forestry industry supports more than 100,000 jobs in British Columbia, according to the BC Lumber Trade Council.
alberta
Oil and gas is by far Alberta’s largest industry: oil accounted for 81 per cent of Alberta’s exports to the United States last year.
The industry has so far escaped many of the harshest U.S. direct tariffs, Tombe said, but is still affected by changes in U.S. trade policy.
“The United States’ trade policy toward other countries in the world has been quite considerable and has resulted in slower rates of economic growth,” he said. “What that does is reduce energy demand and that drives down oil prices.”
Non-renewable resource revenue was down $1.4 billion from what was projected in Alberta’s budget, primarily thanks to lower crude oil prices coupled with a stronger Canadian dollar, according to a provincial fiscal update for the first quarter of 2025.
saskatchewan
Chinese tariffs on Canadian agricultural products have raised concerns about the impacts on Saskatchewan’s economy.
China imposed a 100 percent tariff on canola oil and meal in March and a 75.8 percent tariff on canola seeds in August. The country was Saskatchewan’s second-largest export partner in 2024, and of the $5 billion in Canadian canola, oil, meal and seed exports to China, the province accounts for half.
Chinese Ambassador Wang Di told CTV News earlier this month that China would lift tariffs on canola if Canada removed its 100 percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. Ottawa imposed the tariff in 2024, mirroring a move by the United States a month earlier.
Following the ambassador’s comments, Prime Minister Scott Moe posted on X, calling on Ottawa “to close this deal on behalf of 200,000 Canadian workers.”
China has also imposed a 25 per cent tariff on certain pork products, affecting Saskatchewan’s third-largest agricultural sector. The pork industry accounts for 18 per cent of the province’s total livestock sales, according to the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board.
manitoba
Premier Wab Kinew also said his province faces economic pressure from Chinese tariffs.
“Retaliatory tariffs imposed by China have already caused sharp declines in canola prices, threatening the livelihoods of thousands of Manitoba farmers and the stability of rural communities,” Kinew wrote in an open letter on Oct. 11, urging Prime Minister Mark Carney to remove the tariff on Canada’s electric vehicles.
Canola was Manitoba’s top crop in 2024, generating just under $2 billion for the province.
Kinew also pointed to losses in the pork industry, saying one large producer had seen a “negative impact of $19 million on an annualized basis.”
ontario
The province’s $11.6 billion vehicle manufacturing industry faces threats from south of the border as it is deeply integrated with the United States and the target of tariffs by the Trump administration.
Last week, Trump announced 25 percent tariffs on imported medium and heavy trucks starting Nov. 1.
After Trump’s tariffs on electric trucks, General Motors said it would end production of its electric van in the province. The week before, Stellantis moved production of one of its Jeep models from Ontario to Illinois.
Premier Doug Ford publicly disagreed with Moe and Kinew over eliminating the electric vehicle fee.
“There is no way we should reduce tariffs on China,” Ford said while speaking at the Empire Club of Canada on October 14.
“Scotland [Moe] He called me and said, ‘Hey, I have to protect my province.’ “I understand it,” he said. “I understand why Wab Kinew and Scott say, ‘Eliminate the tariffs,’ but I have to do the same thing.”
Ontario has dedicated billions of dollars in government subsidies, tax credits and investments to promote electric vehicle manufacturing in the province. The tariffs were imposed with concerns that cheaper Chinese technology could displace domestic manufacturing, according to an analysis by TD Economics.
Quebec
Manufacturing is also a major industry in Quebec, accounting for 80 per cent of the province’s exports.
Quebec and Ontario will be hardest hit by US tariffs, according to a Scotiabank analysis from September.
Aluminum is the province’s second-largest sector after aerospace and accounts for 10 per cent of its export market.
Quebec and Ontario’s GDP is expected to fall 1.4 per cent by the end of 2026, the most significant decline in Canada, according to the report.
New Brunswick
New Brunswick’s timber industry contributes approximately $15 billion annually to the province’s GDP.
In an interview with CBC News, Premier Susan Holt said the increase in U.S. tariffs on lumber represents a “real challenge” for her province and will have a “negative impact” on residents’ jobs.
Prince Edward Island
China also imposed tariffs on Canadian seafood imports in March, and reports show they are impacting Prince Edward Island’s $377 million fishing industry.
Hundreds of temporary foreign workers on the island have been laid off or had their hours reduced, and the P.E.I. Seafood Processors Association said the tariffs are a contributing factor to the slowdown at the province’s processing plants.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia’s fishing industry accounts for a sizable portion of the province’s exports, totaling $1.5 billion in 2024.
China received more than 10 per cent of the value of Nova Scotia’s exports, the second most of any country.
Newfoundland and Labrador
The easternmost province also relies heavily on exporting seafood to China.
About 9.1 per cent of Newfoundland and Labrador’s exports are subject to tariffs in China, according to an RBC study.
