saskatchewan facing new reality as trump tariffs take effect
a university of saskatchewan economics professor says despite the challenges, saskatchewan is 'somewhat cushioned' from the trade war.
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saskatchewan, like the rest of canada and the united states, will feel the impact of president donald trump’s tariffs, as a full-fledged trade war gets underway.
“there are no winners in a tariff war, we are going to be paying higher prices for goods and services,” said keith willoughby, dean of the edwards school of business at the university of saskatchewan.
“being an export rich province, we’re going to have our markets restricted in terms of our ability to send our stuff elsewhere.”
after a month-long pause, the u.s. imposed 25-per-cent tariffs on canadian goods and 10 per cent on energy exports on tuesday, forcing saskatchewan to brace for impact.
the trade war was already driving down markets in both countries on tuesday, as the prospects of job losses and economic contraction become closer realities.
willoughby says tariffs could lead to a canada-wide recession.
but speaking on tuesday morning, he said that while the trade war projected dour prospects for both countries, saskatchewan is slightly insulated against its impacts.
the province sends 45 per cent of its exports to countries other than the u.s. saskatchewan also sells more than it buys from the u.s., with $27 billion worth of exports compared to $12.7 billion spent on imports in 2023.
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“we’re somewhat cushioned,” willoughby said, adding the u.s. may fare worse than canada in the trade war.
he also noted that the province has tried to communicate with the u.s. administration as a means to address tariffs, but “the longer this goes on, i think then we need to look at how we can retaliate appropriately, while also recognizing that we do hold some crucial cards.”
he said saskatchewan’s potash resources, uranium and agricultural exports could be leveraged.
in a social media post tuesday, premier scott moe said trump is about to find out that he is wrong when he says “canada has nothing the usa needs.”
“prices will go up for us families immediately and jobs will be lost as a result of the trump tariffs. this is a completely self-inflicted and unnecessary action by the american government,” read the post.
moe did not propose any specific actions in his statement, saying his cabinet will meet wednesday to consider “all options.” he said the government would continue its work to expand trade to new markets and within canada.
“further measures in response to the us tariffs will be announced in the days ahead,” said moe.
earlier tuesday, saskatchewan ndp leader carla beck again urged moe to reconvene the legislature for an emergency session.
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“today’s a hard day, and it’s one that we hoped wouldn’t come, but now that it’s here, we must act,” she said, adding that now was a time to decouple from the u.s. economy amid the trade war turmoil.
saskatchewan ndp leader carla beck speaks during a media scrum outside the saskatchewan legislative building with her ndp colleagues in the foreground to respond to the us tariff threats on tuesday, march 4, 2025 in regina.
kayle neis
/
regina leader-post
also speaking tuesday, prime minister justin trudeau said the aim of the tariffs was “total collapse of the canadian economy because that will make it easier to annex us.”
ontario premier doug ford has now proposed ripping up a deal with starlink and is also entertaining a further tax on energy exports to the u.s. and other provinces have also begun pulling american liquor off store shelves and shifting to a canada-only procurement model.
ford told reporters that said he spoke with moe and emphasized a need to make sure “america feels the pain” amid the tariffs, proposing saskatchewan cut off potash, uranium and crude sales to the u.s.
“without potash down there, (the united states) doesn’t have a farming system. when it comes to uranium, they’re using that to enrich their uranium down in the u.s. for their nuclear energy,” said ford.
when first announced, trump’s executive order tied the tariffs, also set to impact mexico, to the illegal flow of people and drugs across the borders. the tariff threat was paused for one month after canada and mexico agreed to introduce new security measures at their respective borders.
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trump has not said publicly what actions would be required in order to remove the tariffs.
in retaliation tuesday, canada imposed 25-per-cent retaliatory tariffs on $155 billion worth of u.s. imports. of that, $30 billion is to be immediate, with the remaining balance coming into effect after 21 days.
“let me be unequivocally clear — there is no justification for these actions,” trudeau said of trump’s measures in a statement monday, adding that retaliatory tariffs will be in place until the u.s. removes the tariffs that instigated this trade war.
— with files from the canadian press
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