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Cutting off Alberta oil to the United States would be a “disastrous policy decision,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith warned during a press conference today addressing the ongoing Canada-U.S. tariff dispute.

Despite pressure from the NDP Official Opposition, Smith pushed back against calls to use Alberta’s energy exports as leverage, outlining the potentially devastating consequences for both Alberta and the broader Canadian economy. A 50% Canadian tariff on oil, she argued, would likely be matched by the United States, hitting oil imported to Ontario and Quebec particularly hard.

Danielle Smith slams the door shut on cutting off oil to the U.S., saying she "cannot think of a more disastrous policy decision."

"Doing so would absolutely devastate the Canadian economy," she says. pic.twitter.com/yVHOmuK3sJ

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) August 26, 2026

"It would not only extinguish the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Albertans, it would economically hobble our friends and neighbours in other provinces to the east," she said. "Meanwhile, all those refineries in the United States that currently use Alberta's heavy oil would start looking to Venezuela for replacement heavy oils... As a result, we would lose the United States as a customer entirely and likely forever."

Instead, Smith urged Canadians and the federal government to see “time as our friend,” calling for de-escalation and diplomacy while waiting for political conditions in the United States to shift — potentially after the November midterm elections.

Premier Smith lays out Alberta's plan to respond to Trump's tariffs.

"Time is our friend," she says, adding Canadians and businesses need support to "survive," while the American public and government needs time to "reverse these terrible policies after the November midterms." pic.twitter.com/LNtkFouB1f

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) August 26, 2026

"We must give our people and our businesses the resources they need to survive and give the American people and their leaders the time they need to reverse these terrible policies after the November midterms," she said. "We will be there to help as soon as the tariffs are reversed."

Smith also called on all premiers to end alcohol protectionism, approve the West Coast pipeline immediately and open new markets for Canadian products.

Canada will not win this battle through brute force." @ABDanielleSmith says the trade war will be won by being smarter and more strategic — and by using Canadians' relationship with the American people to get the tariffs reversed. pic.twitter.com/ceKmuw78mm

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) August 26, 2026

"Canada will not win this battle through brute force," she warned. "We will win it through being smarter, more strategic, more agile, and using our reputation and relationship with the American people to have these tariffs reversed." 

Ultimately, Smith said, the best path forward is to “get back to the table as quickly as possible.”

"That's what I hope the outcome would be," she said. "I don't think anyone wins a tariff war."