Premier Danielle Smith joins the rest of Team Canada on Trump Tariff Day 2.
Like the rest of the premiers, she goes up to the plate and takes a swing at U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump.
Smith went down to Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s swanky hangout, to have a few words with him. The premier has the photos. Those were happier times.
Trump.
Smith went down to the U.S. and talked to Trump politicians and Trump movers and shakers and told Alberta and Canada’s story and listened to them intently.
Trump.
Smith went down to the U.S. and told as many of the MAGA people as she could, as many of the Make America Great Again influencers as she could, about the very real benefits discounted Alberta oil brings to the Americans and how life between the two countries could be one big win-win.
Trump.
Smith went down to the U.S. and she had the advantage of being closer politically to the Trump Republicans than any Liberal politician coming down from Ottawa or Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a man the president loves to ridicule.
Ah yes, Governor Trudeau.
Finally, Trump.
Smith went down to the U.S. and heard the president and his people say Canada wasn’t doing enough about strengthening the border and fighting the flow of fentanyl into America.
Smith came out and showed them how Alberta was taking the president’s words seriously and even a Fox News crew came out to film how the government would get tougher on bad actors at the border.
Then Wednesday, where Smith is pointing out again how much more enforcement there is at the Alberta border.
You don’t need a fancy poll to tell you most Canadians are pissed off at Trump.
You don’t need a fancy poll to tell you the Liberals have turned the upcoming election from a Conservative landslide to a battle where we are not sure who will win and by how much.
And you only need to be able to add two and two and come up with four to realize the Liberals, even under Trudeau, have found new life since the tariff threat.
To top it off, even the legendary Wayne Gretzky was slimed when he didn’t see where the puck was going in this game as so many Canadians are losing their minds over these Trump tariffs.
So Smith has something to say on Wednesday even before any announcements or any questions.
The Trump tariffs, 25 per cent charge on everything Canadian going stateside except energy where it is a 10 per cent hit.
Smith says Canada is under attack from Trump.
Trump’s talk of Canada as the 51st state and using “economic force” to “facilitate the annexation of our country” has broken the trust between the two countries.
For Smith, it is a betrayal.
She says we’ve appreciated and shared American ideals such as free markets and civil liberties. Like so many Americans, Smith says Canadians are well aware Albertans feel a strong sense of identity and are fiercely independent.
But Smith adds Albertans are strong and loyal Canadians and some died fighting for this country.
“We will not cast these freedoms and loyalties aside in response to the threat of economic pressure from a foreign government,” says Smith.
Tough talk.
Want more?
Smith says Trump is violating an agreement he signed and he is devastating Canada.
The premier longs for a day when our American friends “come back to reality.”
Smith even pushes against Canada being responsible for the fentanyl deaths in the U.S.
“I guess you’d have to believe there’s no organized crime or cartels operating in America,” says the premier.
“A lot of this problem started in the United States. The Americans have to take responsibility for the fact they are a net exporter of cocaine, crystal meth.”
Surely Smith will now be considered a patriot by the so-called opinion makers of the nation, the self-styled smart set.
Not so fast.
Smith does not support and will never support the Canadian government taxing Alberta oil going to the U.S.
Remember when Canada’s premiers said they wanted everything on the table in the fight against Trump tariffs.
For Smith, it was hands off Alberta oil.
She was then crucified as a traitor and if anyone said she wasn’t a traitor they were also a traitor.
Smith says Trump tariffs are not popular with Americans and they will become more unpopular as the cost of living goes up for them.
The premier says stopping shipment of Alberta oil to Americans would hurt Canada’s cause.
“Cutting off energy entirely would make Canada the bad guy for Americans. We don’t want that.”
When the pain hits, Smith wants Americans to blame Trump’s tariffs.
Does that argument make you guilty of treason?
Canadians are angry but hopefully they have not gone mad.