U.S. President Donald Trump’s surprise escalation in his trade war with Canada puts renewed pressure on the premiers — most of whom have pulled American booze from liquor stores — as they descend on Charlottetown for their annual summer meeting. 

The White House announced on Monday that it will impose 50 per cent tariffs on a range of goods in response to what a senior administration official described as Canada’s retaliation against U.S. trade policy and its discrimination against U.S. motor vehicles, dairy and alcohol.

It all but certainly changes the tone and focus when the Council of the Federation gathers along the harbourfront starting Tuesday — not far from where the Fathers of Confederation discussed uniting the colonies in the face of American threats some 160 years ago. 

Speaking Monday to reporters following a dinner with his counterpars, B.C. Premier David Eby suggested nobody is talking about putting booze back on the shelves. Every province except Alberta and Saskatchewan has banned the sale of U.S. alcohol in retaliation to his previous tariffs on things like the auto sector, steel and aluminium.

The boycotts have been seen as a bargaining chip in the ongoing trade negotiations between Canada and the U.S. and have become an irritant for the Americans as U.S. exports of wine, beer and spirits to Canada plummeting.

“At this point I just feel sorry for Americans. You know, if you’re picking fights with Canadians, then you don’t have a friend in the world,” Eby said.

“I can’t make sense of what the president is doing, nobody can.”

He also said he has asked staff to contact the U.S. Embassy to have his government’s statement marking the two countries’ friendship removed from the U.S. 250th birthday website.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Canada should hit back against the  latest measures.

“I’ll never stop fighting to protect Ontario. If these tariffs proceed, Canada should respond tariff for tariff, dollar for dollar,” he posted on social media Monday.

Premiers will first hear from Indigenous leaders before their own meeting on Wednesday. Prime Minister Mark Carney is joining the table later in the week.

The new tariffs, set to come into place in 30 days, would apply to a variety of Canadian imports, “ranging from wine to hockey sticks to cement,” the official said. Energy, potash, critical minerals and fish would be exempt, but other products that until now have been allowed into the U.S. tariff-free under terms of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) would be hit.

This follows the White House’s announcement earlier this month declining to extend CUSMA, triggering what are expected to be tough negotiations on amending the continental pact.

Before Monday’s news, premiers had listed health care transfers, energy development, economic growth and the wildfires destroying swaths of northern Ontario as priorities for their meetings. 

In 2023 the federal government, under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, hiked the annual Canada Health Transfer by five per cent for five years. With the transfers reverting back to three per cent increases come March 2028, the provinces are beating the drum for more federal funding. 

“It’s very important that before we expand responsibilities, for example, do more on dental care or do more defence spending, that we do honour our commitments to Canadian citizens of providing quality public health care,” Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard told CBC’s Power & Politics last week. 

Referendums off the official agenda

The meetings also come ahead of what could be internal tests to Canadian unity. 

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is going ahead with a series of referendum questions in October — including whether Alberta should remain a province of Canada or commence the legal process of holding a second binding referendum on leaving the country.

The question of Quebec independence has also been resurrected, with Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon promising to hold a referendum on separation if he secures a mandate in the fall provincial election. While St-Pierre Plamondon’s party has been dominating in the polls over the last year, recent surveys suggest the race is tightening.   

In an interview late last week, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said the referendums aren’t on the official agenda, “but there are also conversations that we have around the coffee pot or as we’re moving in and out of different discussions.

“We were one of the four that set Canada up and I believe very firmly in the beauty of this nation from coast to coast to coast and New Brunswick will do whatever we can to keep our country strong and united,” said Holt.