British Columbia Premier David Eby says local businesses will have access to a federal emergency fund if the United States follows through on new tariff threats.
U.S. President Donald Trump says he plans to impose tariffs of up to 50 per cent on Canadian products, including those made out of wood, and Eby says Prime Minister Mark Carney told him that affected business in B.C. could apply to a support fund worth $1.5 billion.
The premier says Carney has told him the fund "has not been exhausted," and he expects that there "should be more than enough in that regional fund," should the United States impose the threatened tariffs on Aug. 19.
But he also says the tariff plan is already costing B.C. businesses by creating uncertainty, so the sooner the dispute can be resolved, the better.
Eby, who was speaking from Charlottetown, where he met with other first ministers, including Carney, says the meeting discussed various ways to respond to this latest threat.
He says he does not consider putting U.S. alcohol back in B.C. stores to be an option, a move that Trump has demanded.
"I can tell you in terms of the perspective of those provinces and territories that have taken U.S. alcohol off the shelf, there is no desire to put those products back on the shelves," Eby says.
"At this point, this is a significant point of leverage for Canada in these conversations, and none of us is moving to put American booze back on the shelf."
The premier says he also spoke during the meeting about B.C.'s softwood lumber sector, and there will be a separate gathering with the premiers of other provinces that have large softwood sectors.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese
