NWT Premier RJ Simpson positioned his territory on Saturday as the epitome of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s assertion that after a trade deal with the United States collapsed, Canada will focus on “building our strength at home.”
Carney called off last-gasp negotiations with the US late on Friday, saying American negotiators had attempted unfair changes late in proceedings that disadvantaged Canada.
As a result, US President Donald Trump’s threatened 50-percent tariffs on $28 billion in Canadian goods have rolled out. Carney says Canada will match those tariffs “dollar for dollar.”
In a Saturday afternoon statement, Simpson said Carney was “right to hold the line for a fair agreement rather than accept a deal at any cost,” adding the territory “stands with the Prime Minister and with Team Canada” on a coordinated response that defends Canadian interests.
Carney had outlined a two-pronged response in his statement as negotiations ended, focusing on “building our strength at home and diversifying our partnerships abroad” – a strategy the prime minister said was already working, pointedly asserting that Canada’s economy is “creating jobs at four times the rate of the United States.”
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On the matter of strength at home, Simpson said the NWT represented “a big part of that work.”
“We are advancing projects like the Mackenzie Valley Highway, the Arctic Economic and Security Corridor and the Taltson Hydro Expansion, while advancing critical mineral development and other resources Canada and our allies need,” the premier wrote.
“The projects we are advancing in the North will create jobs, strengthen Canadian supply chains, open new markets and make Canada more self-reliant. They are an important part of the nation-building work ahead.
“The North is ready to build. We will keep working with Canada, Indigenous governments and other partners to grow our economy, create opportunities for Northerners, strengthen our sovereignty and help build a stronger Canada.”
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Analysts are nearly united in projecting that the breakdown in trade talks and consequent tariffs will have negative impacts on households either side of the border. That extends to the NWT, even though the territory’s direct trade relationship with the US is minimal compared to southern provinces.
For its part, the US trade team accused Canada of having tried its own late changes to the draft deal.
Also on Saturday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a statement that Canada could not “accept one-sided tariffs that will deindustrialize our country. Nor can we accept a bad deal.”
“Instead, we must continue the fight for tariff-free trade,” Poilievre stated.
While Alberta Premier Danielle Smith urged the two countries to resume negotiations, most premiers have so far joined Simpson in expressing lock-step support for Carney’s decision to walk away.
