As tariffs from the United States loom over Canadian exports and energy, Saskatchewan isn't sitting stagnant.
Premier Scott Moe held a press conference Monday morning to address the situation, and to discuss border security, tariff retaliation, President Donald Trump's motivations, and unity within provincial and federal cooperation.
Moe began by stating that the tariffs will be bad for everyone in North America, no matter where you live. He sighted inflation, fuel costs, grocery prices, and falter in job availability.
"They'll be harmful to Canadians, but they will also be harmful to Americans," said Moe.
The Premier called for both the Canadian and American officials at large to abstain from implementing any tariffs. It is his belief that any talk of tariffs does nothing but escalate the situation.
"Our North American economy is very integrated and is much stronger when we are operating in a non-tariff environment and it's incumbent on each of us as political leaders to do what we can to de-escalate any conversation," said Moe.
Mexico, similarily to Canada, was set to be hit with tariffs. However, they were granted a reprieve by the Trump administration Monday morning after agreeing to deploying an alleged 10,000 military personnel to the border. This was highlighted by Moe, who brought up an idea he had issued last year about bringing the Canadian Border Services Agency under the wing of the Canadian Military. Trump has cited the Canadian border as a major entry for fentanyl into the United States.
"We've taken action in this space in our province, and I'd say there's been action taken across Canada as well with the $1.3 billion that has been invested by our Canadian government (for border security)," said Moe. "In addition to that, you've seen action taken in Saskatchewan with refocusing some of our existing resources."
A total of 95 Saskatchewan officers have been made available in the event of a surge in need to support federal border agencies. These come alongside 16 provincial law enforcement officers that are engaging in patroling what Moe has described as 'high-priority areas around the border'.
Moe went on to highlight how this could not only earn Canada a similar reprieve to that of Mexico on the tariffs but would also address military spending requests from NATO to meet a minimum of two per cent.
"I've reached out to [Canada's Minister Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc] to reconsider the proposal that I had provided earlier, and if that has any merit in advancing this conversation, de-escalating the imposition of tariffs on Canadian businesses and ultimately Canadian families," he said.
Saskatchewan being 55 per cent reliant on trade with the United States for all its exports was another note Moe made. He believes that it is perhaps the lowest among all the provinces and that it can be further diversified by trading with other foreign bodies. He would like to see further engagement with the 160 other countries that Saskatchewan trades with currently.
"I've asked our Trade and Export Minister, (Warren Kaeding), to remain in Ottawa for an extra couple of days as he is engaging with numerous ambassadors from other markets of interest," Moe said.
He acknowledged that the agriculture sector especially will be hurt by these tariffs. Alongside oil and gas, mining, and other key resource sectors, Moe called it 'the most challenging situation in recent history', saying the impact will stretch all the way from the top of the supply chain to the bottom.
"President Trump seems bent on using these tariffs in some way, shape, or form to destabilize the investment environment that we have in North America to destabilize the energy and food security that we have been able to acquire in North America over the course of the last number of decades, and maybe even the century," he said.