It must have nearly killed Danielle Smith yesterday to come out and advocate for Canada to drop its 100-per-cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
Admittedly, Alberta’s premier did so half-heartedly. Still, the intent of her message to the masses was clear: Canada must remove the tariff on Chinese EVs in hopes the Chinese will drop the 75.8-per-cent tariff on Canadian canola products they announced yesterday.
Hitherto, Ms. Smith has been no friend of the concept of electrification that is sweeping the world – all except a few backward MAGA bits of North America, including Alberta, that continue to insist the internal combustion engine was handed down to Adam by God and must therefore remain in use forever, powered by Alberta’s anointed if carbon-intensive ethical oil.
Or, at least, as long as cheap and reliable Chinese-built EVs aren’t available in Canada thanks to that tariff that former president of the United States instructed our previous prime minister to impose on China back when the present president was still the former president. Ironically, Canadian officials felt at the time that if they didn’t go along with the Biden White House demand, the response could devastate the Canadian auto industry.
There was Ms. Smith’s “temporary” ban on renewable energy projects that thanks to the application of reams of red tape – a United Conservative Party specialty when it doesn’t like something or someone for any reason – cost the province something in the order of $33-billion in investment and has turned into a semi-permanent state of affairs.
Likewise, there was her whimsically punitive tax on EVs because they’re, you know, really heavy – as if giant pickup trucks used as commuter vehicles here in Wildrose Country are not.
However, that was then, and this is somewhat post-then!
“China just hit Alberta’s farmers with a crushing 75.8% tariff on even more canola products, on top of the 100% tariffs already in place,” Ms. Smith said on the social media site previously known as Twitter, accurately for once. “This threatens to shut Alberta producers out of one of our most valuable markets almost entirely.
“China is Alberta’s second largest agricultural export market worth $2.4 BILLION last year and nearly 70% of our canola seed exports go there,” she went on, channelling her American hero’s use of ALL CAPS to emphasize a point on social media.
“These tariffs are in response to the federal government’s imposition of 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs and 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum,” she continued, working reluctantly up to her point. “Now, Alberta’s farmers, ranchers, and processors are paying the price.
“We need immediate federal action to resolve this dispute and reopen access to this critical market before more livelihoods are destroyed,” she said, getting to it.
Agriculture Minister RJ (“Junior”*) Sigurdson issued a nearly identical statement on the government’s official website, giving it the quality of Holy Writ – at least for as long as it remains on this side of the Memory Hole. Well, like the internal combustion engine, the Internet is forever, so I guess historians may get to argue about who really said it.
However, to add that special Alberta touch, Mr. Sigurdson insisted in his little screed that Canada’s current trade problems with China were created entirely by the Liberal Government in Ottawa, a point of view that some might dismiss as tendentious.
Nevertheless, for once Ms. Smith and Mr. Sigurdson are mostly right about EV tariffs, at least in the sense that the tariff was put there in significant part to protect the U.S. auto industry at the request of the United States – the very same United States, as it happens that is now beating the crap out of Canada with tariffs and taking actions that have the potential to destroy the Canadian auto industry.
So it’s possible that, if handled with finesse, the removal of the EV tariff on China could kill several metaphorical birds with one proverbial stone: Repair our trade relationship with the world’s largest economy (that is, China’s, if you go by purchasing power parity), hasten the trend to electrification, help Canadian consumers, maybe even encourage the production of electric vehicles in Canada, and flip the bird to U.S. President Donald J. Trump.
The sounds emanating from the Carney Government in Ottawa are not promising, alas. The Globe and Mail’s agriculture reporter quoted the federal agriculture minister saying Ottawa “will hold off on making concessions until it knows Beijing will respond in kind.”
“We want to make sure that when we make a final decision … we’re going to get a result back from it,” Heath MacDonald told the newspaper. As if you can’t trust a trade deal made in Beijing but you can trust one made in Washington.
What this really means, presumably, is that Ottawa is worried about the temper tantrum that Mr. Trump might respond with. So don’t hold your breath expecting to be able to buy a BYD in Alberta any time soon. Pity.
If nothing else, to stick with Orwellian metaphors, this certainly illustrates how the UCP has so perfected the art and science of doublethink that its leaders can execute a screeching smuggler’s turn without making a sound!
Doublethink, as the British author George Orwell explained in his novel 1984, which was mostly written in 1948, is the ability to simultaneously hold two opinions that cancel each other out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing them both anyway.
And it’s why the owners of those giant pickup trucks racing up and down the highways of Alberta don’t need to worry about being electrified out of existence any time soon, no matter what Ms. Smith is saying this week.
*I don’t actually know for a verified fact that RJ Sigurdson’s nickname is “Junior,” but if the Wikipedia is telling the truth and his legal name really is Richard Junior Sigurdson, how could it not be? DJC
In my opinion, one of Smiths greatest talents is to put forth confidently and hold contradictory thoughts simultaneously without appearing at all troubled. Actually, it probably explains how she became a totalitarian libertarian. I feel she mainly reconciles her contradictory ideas by really not thinking too deeply about them.
If Smith is uneasy about having to champion cheap Chinese EVs, she might really lose when she hears what Ford is up to now. Apparently they now are planning to make a low cost EV small truck, in the US of course, probably because well you know who.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the Chinese should be pleased, but sadly this will do nothing for the price of our canola. Trump may not be keen on EVs, he only reluctantly got in a Tesla because of his former best buddy and donor. However, even he may start to see which way the wind is blowing, if good US companies like Ford also start to go in this direction. So I wouldn’t count on US stubborness to save our energy industry. After all, they have their own interests.
Well said, well reasoned, well, clearly not UCP.
Dave: Unfortunately, when Danielle Smith is caught contradicting herself, or lying, she has different ways of showing that. A look like gears in her head are turning. Another is a deer in the headlights look. Yet another is beginning a reply, or including it in a reply, with the statement, “Well look”. Her lies are catching up with her. The Corrupt Care (MH Care) scandal, will see to that, come the fall.
FWIW— D’rumps lawyers filed in court that it would be impossible to redistribute back to the American people, businesses and corporations all the illegal tariffs that have been collected so far…..you know,
all the tariffs that the othercou tries are “supposedly paying”, while all the big corporations are buying back their own stocks from the tax breaks they got. American consumers paying the price for ” I have the best people”
(Lawrence/MSNBC)
So given that (supposedly) one of the main reasons for the tariff wars was the imbalance of trade with China, and trying to stop the American auto market being “flooded” with cheap electric cars from China, directly competing with the richest man in the world’s ‘vehicles’…..capitalism for us not for you….could explain d’rumps , O&G, and Marlaina’s war on renewable energy. With Taco Man extending the pause for another 90 days, this could mean anything or nothing.
Impo, Canada is caught up in another “the 2 Michaels” situation, ironically caused by guess who and again we are in the cross hairs of a fight we didn’t start.
While our PM and other foreign leaders are trying to navigate the splashing waters around the angry toddler who can’t make up his mind which toys he wants to play with today, they are still trying to get through the legal process of the courts and the actual written and stamped agreements that are on the books. As far as I’ve heard, there hasn’t been any actual signed tariff agreements. So what’s actually legal and binding is up for debate.
If the enemy gets you to stoop to his level in illegalities ,you can guarantee that he will use that against you faster than you can say extortion.
One of the biggest problems we have today is the “we want this done yesterday” ,why do I have to wait? why can’t you fix it right now? attitude.
When you have a person who will literally push other world leaders out of the way so he’s at the front of the line, you’re dealing a bully: someone who will have no qualms about abuse of power, not be bothered with tact, decorum or diplomacy. ( WWE in the paved over rose garden, is a pretty good indicator of what the next 3 1/2 yrs will be like). It’s also uncanny how the ballroom blueprints looks like the Sochi ‘crib’.
As our PM stated, things were going to be a little rough, we’d have to expect that, but a signed bad deal …IS NOT..a good deal.
No matter how much Skippy thinks that IF he is elected, he’ll have boots and shovels in the ground the day after. PP will become SS…Snappy Skippy, the CONservative wonder boy…instant roads, instant pipelines, instant factories. You know that someone who talks like that has never done any actual labor in his life or is so full of it, they believe their own……
I guess I’m showing my age, but I miss the time when agreements had to go by diplomatic couriers, in person meetings, not staged events and not 3 am bathroom pronouncements to be used as official declarations.
Sorry for the rant…..
According to AESO: “Renewables (wind, solar and hydro) contributed approximately 19 per cent of total electricity generation in 2024, up from 17 per cent in 2023.”
As long as our grid is predominantly natural gas fueled, electric vehicles have little or no effect on Alberta’s net GHG emissions. The EVs do, however, have significant positive impact on urban air quality.
All true, Robert. They also make a powerful statement in favour of a better, cleaner world. That is why the UCP and other fossil-fuel-industry-bankrolled political movements so hate them. In addition, of course, if BYD were to sell its vehicles for anything approaching the price they do in China, they would be enormously popular on cost alone. Now, it would be more expensive for Chinese automakers to sell their cars here, obviously. Not only would they have the cost of transporting their cars here by boat (as Korean and Japanese auto makers did in the early days of their industries) but they would have to build a dealer network. Even so, if a Tesla costs $100,000 or more here and a BYD costs about $15,500 Cdn. in China, I’m betting they could sell them for less than $100,000 here and still have a dealer network. DJC
Not only that but dealer networks are basically franchisees who agree to buy a certain number of vehicles per year. So I’m betting there’s actually some pretty deep pocketed dealers / dealer groups that would jump at the opportunity to sell such a profitable vehicle. Being there isn’t a nation on earth that exports as much as China does rn the logistics would be rather easy for them.
GM is already co-sharing EV technology with SAIC, a Chinese car maker, through joint ventures in China, so much of GM’s EV technology is Chinese. SAIC is already in North America selling auto parts. SAIC also sells MG electric cars worldwide wide, with the exception of Canada and the USA. They are available in Mexico easily through local dealers, and in other South American countries.
SAIC is reckoned to be the 5th largest car maker in the world. My guess is eventually Ford, GM, Chrysler, and Tesler, will become sort of like Italy’s Fiat. Irrelevant as global producers, and their product line(s) marooned to Canada and the USA. Likely to become, rather much like MG in the UK was bought after bankruptcy by SAIC for its goodwill value, the same will eventually happen to the “big 3.” That is presuming WWIII doesn’t occur first. Trump is attempting to hold back a tidal wave of change. It may take a bit, but change is coming.
Robert: EV’s typically run about 80% efficient, gas cars are in the 20% range. So yes, EV’s running on a fossil gas fired grid actually reduce overall GHG emissions compared to ICE cars. Since most EV’s are charged overnight when grid demand is low, they also contribute to the overall efficiency of the electrical system.
Marlaina’s ivermectin-addled brain is incapable of rational thought. She is motivated by whatever she thinks the Mango Mussolini would do and whatever might enrich herself or her cronies, and if there is any confusion just throw in a few incoherent comments about the federal government.
Cannot have put it better myself.
For anyone who may have missed it, an opinion piece by Andrew Nikiforuk of The Tyee may provide some mild entertainment:
https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025/07/29/One-Bird-Danielle-Smith-Most-Like/
That piece is tremendously unfair to magpies.
Edmonton’s official bird lol.
It’s hilarious to me that they picked canola. 1) they’ve long complained about the poor quality which is often contaminated with mold and not up to the standards of Chinese industry 2.) it shows they’re really paying attention to which parts of Canada are more “difficult” to work with than others, aren’t they?
Could it be that there are some canola farms in Battle River-Crowfoot? Yes, according to this map, in glorious Alberta colours.
https://albertacanola.com/about/regions/
So now we have a seeming contradiction from the premier of Alberta. But is this just a shallow bid for votes on behalf of Pierre Poilievre? Or is it a cunning way to gouge every new Chinese EV owner an extra $200 per year in registration fees? It’s not nearly as clever as taking $200 per month out of the pockets of people on AISH, but still.
Can we assume the fee for vaccines will be $200, in line with the UCP’s fixation on this karmic number? (I could be wrong. It might be more in line with a certain UCP staffer’s $119 parking fee.)
I think Smith and Poilievre have marched in step (goosestep) for years, though she may have damaged him by shooting off her big mouth during the last election.
Poilievre announced today he is launching a big campaign to stop Liberal policy to encourage EVs.
https://www.cpac.ca/headline-politics/episode/pierre-poilievre-on-federal-zero-emission-vehicle-target-chinese-canola-tariffs?id=75687c10-a8f1-4976-9f83-413839409b7b
Also he’s going to champion farmers and the west over canola etc.
I wonder if Danielle Smith had to ingest Tums in bulk to deliver her “EV sales for canola sales” pitch. The emotional turmoil of dialing down her knee-jerk support for 1) oilpatch CEOs and 2) Donald Trump must have been ulcer-inducing. Frankly, I’m not sure if Alberta’s beloved farmers rise above Smith’s awareness threshold—until she realizes they could kick her out of the Big Chair and back into a broadcast booth for good.*
“China is Alberta’s second largest agricultural export market worth $2.4 BILLION last year and nearly 70% of our canola seed exports go there.” Further proof, if we needed any, that Canada has to stop piling its eggs (and pouring our exported oil) into two foreign markets. But it’s always been easier for Canadian companies to work the markets they know. They’d rather not try to open new doors in places they don’t know, and therefore risk their money by trying.
We no longer have a choice. Between Trump’s hare-brained arrogance and China’s reflex bullying tactics, Canadians damn well better work hard to increase trade with the EU, Africa and South America, other Commonwealth countries—anybody who can take up a little of the slack Trump has forced on us.
But any handling with finesse will come from the Carney government. Danielle Smith’s idea of a precision instrument is a sledgehammer. Worse, she’ll revert to form the instant she perceives—or imagines—a threat to her position as Queen of Oilberduh.
*foot-of-clay note: it would certainly be good for Alberta, and even better for Canada, if Miz Smith found herself stuck in front of a microphone, riling up her fanboys but unable to influence political action anymore.
“China’s reflex bullying tactics”? Mike, maybe you can provide an example to back that up, maybe one which exceeds what Canada does, like initiating 100% tariffs on EVs or arresting and incarcerating Meng Wanzhou? China responds to our outright provocations and you call it “reflex”? There is no tariff on vehicles from Japan or South Korea and the highest vehicle tariffs on any other country is 6.1%, but China earns a 93.9% “bonus tariff”?
I do agree with what you said that it would be better if the Alberta MAGA crowd pushed her out. Sure you might get someone worse but it would be a step forward to realization, bring things out in the open so to speak.
Diversifying our trade partners is definitely overdue but regarding working the markets we know that’s been done and there isn’t much we need from the EU, we’ve got all the lederhosen and bad English food we need. The last guys to invest in Ukraine got all their investment stolen by the incredible corruption there.
Mike J Danysh: Danielle Smith is in a panic mode, because of the record amount of boondoogles she and the UCP are doing. The Corrupt Care (MH Care) scandal looks like it’s getting worse. It is a lot more bad than many people realize.
China now the green energy super power leading the way……….not like Alberta’s Useless Clown Party……the backward maga arses…….one has to wonder……how did we get here????……..oh right…..post media’s political manipulations…..the rich and powerful political elites continue to bring us Fox views North…….and be dammed those dummies that are too dumb to see it……
It is also important to remember China has a reputation for taking the long view. Westerners think short term, this has led to some nasty surprises for the occidental world. Think the Vietnam war through French colonial times to Souh and North Vietnam to reunification. For that matter think how long China has worked on rebuilding herself.
Not a fan of tarriffs or countertarrifs, big fan of EVs. Love the idea of cheap EVs.
But it does seem that China is putting a bunch of subsidy into these cars, the way a startup has a ton of money and can float unsustainable business until they are the last man standing… and then drive up prices. So I can see why Canada would want to put a bit of a thumb on the other side of the scale, but not 100%.
So. China and India. Two of the world’s largest markets, and the two most populous nations on the planet. From a purely economic perspective, one might expect we’d be eager to do business with them, and would do whatever it takes to facilitate that.
But from a geopolitical, human rights and internal sovereignty perspective, both should give one pause. India, under its current authoritarian and ethnocentric government led by PM Narendra Modi, has [allegedly] engaged in extrajudicial assassinations on Canadian soil and has [allegedly] hired organized crime bosses to harass, intimidate and extort members of the Indian diaspora community in Canada. Foreign interference in Canadian electoral politics — largely connected to the unregulated, unsupervised process of selecting candidates for nominations at the constituency association level — by India has also been alleged.
Then there’s China. There’s been no suggestion that they’ve killed any Canadians on Canadian soil, but harassment of the Chinese diaspora community in Canada by the PRC government’s so-called “police stations” in Canada has been rampant and widespread. Then there’s the matter of forced labour in the Chinese supply chain, that country’s lack of an independent judiciary and capricious use of the death penalty, and the fact it’s a global superpower on the make that’s throwing its weight around in the Aisa-Pacific as well as Africa, and you can understand why not everyone is enthusiastic about doing business with them.
So, what’s the right balance, between opening up trade with China (and India), and being standoffish with them on these geopolitical and diplomatic issues? I don’t think I’m smart enough in these areas to have a good answer to that, but at the very least I think I can say with a great deal of confidence that (1) we need to make all of our decisions with our eyes wide open, and (2) there is no clear, binary, black-or-white answer: it has to be some uncomfortable shade of grey that won’t and can’t please everyone.
the little yellow car in the picture is adorable. reminds me of my misspent youth driving a Mini Austin 1000 (1971 model) Those things ran on fumes. If I were going to purchase a new vehicle I’d purchase a hybrid. If I were young again and I say that little car, it would be walk in, buy. A reasonable tariff might be in order. If governments spent as much effort on keeping guns and drugs out of Canada as they do these new evs who knows things might be a lot safer.
The news is reporting Ford is going to sell a small truck, hybrid for about $30K in 2027. Might seriously look at that and trade in or sell my Ford F-150 pick up truck, which I love, its too difficult to get into at my advanced age and back. My Dodge Van could then also go