Ezra Levant: Western Canada is paying for Doug Ford's trade war
The pattern is consistent: provinces with the least to lose are setting the tone, while the ones actually paying the tariffs are left absorbing the cost of other premiers' talking points.
On Tuesday's episode of The Ezra Levant Show, Ezra weighed in on Trump’s new tariffs, Doug Ford’s threats, and the cost for Western Canada.
While Canada's loudest premiers trade insults with Washington, the actual U.S. trade office says the dispute comes down to three concrete grievances — and none of them are the ones Ontario Premier Doug Ford or B.C. Premier David Eby keep talking about.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters this week that Canada's retaliatory alcohol bans, its dairy supply management system, and limits on American-made autos are what triggered new American tariffs. Greer noted Canada was one of only two countries, alongside China, that retaliated at all — and that Ottawa kept giving other trading partners better terms on those same three files.
Instead of addressing that, several premiers have chosen theatre. Ford has floated sacrificing Alberta energy and Saskatchewan potash exports in the trade fight, a move former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall publicly criticized, warning that retaliation would land squarely on Western workers while Ontario manufacturing takes the political credit for "standing up" to Trump.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, meanwhile, has accused Trump of associating with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, rhetoric widely dismissed as unserious.
British Columbia's Eby, whose approval ratings sit near 31 percent, has banned American liquor from provincial shelves — a move with no realistic path to changing U.S. policy, but a reliable applause line in a left-leaning province.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, by contrast, has avoided the personal attacks on Trump, a choice for which the province's NDP opposition criticized her even as her measured approach kept oil and gas — Alberta's largest export — off the new tariff list entirely.
Greer added that Prime Minister Mark Carney's government has offered only vague promises to keep talking about energy co-operation and existing trade practices, rather than substantive changes to the three disputed policies. Canada's foreign affairs minister, Anita Anand, was in Pakistan during the latest round of tensions rather than engaging directly on the trade file.
Jason Kenney, the former Alberta premier, has meanwhile defended both Quebec's protected dairy sector and Ford's willingness to put Western industries on the table — a position that raised eyebrows given Kenney's political base.
With auto manufacturing, energy and potash all exposed, the pattern is consistent: provinces with the least to lose are setting the tone, while the ones actually paying the tariffs are left absorbing the cost of other premiers' talking points.
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COMMENTS
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Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2026-07-22 17:34:13 -0400 FlagFord, Eby, et. al., are the epitome of crybullies. Diplomacy doesn’t consist of insulting the other party and then whining incessantly when there’s a negative reaction.
