The Liberals have throttled the energy industry, leaving us vulnerable to protectionism
Donald Trump has threatened to slap punishing 25 per cent tariffs on “all” Canadian goods imported into the United States. This is expected to happen soon after the U.S.-president elect moves back into the White House in the new year. No Canadian, even pro-Trump conservatives, should fool themselves about the damage that these tariffs could impose on Canada.
Despite dealing with two protectionist administrations in Washington over the past nine years, the decisions made by Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government have not put Canada in a strong position to deal with what could be an existential threat to many Canadian industries.
Even though Canada is the largest source of oil imports into the U.S., there was no indication from Trump that energy would be exempt from the tariff, as had been previously speculated. In 2023, almost all Canadian crude oil exports went to the U.S., and a 25 per cent tariff on our oil would be devastating. The expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline earlier this year has only begun to diversify Canadian energy exports.
For the rest of this column: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/geoff-russ-climate-obsessed-trudeau-has-put-canada-at-the-mercy-of-trump-tariffs