No Canadian has been more visible, more strategic, and more on-the-ground on the U.S.-Canada tariff file than Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. You don’t have to like her approach to recognize that she has been enormously successful in securing an in-person audience with decision-makers in the U.S., to whom she has been making her case for Canadian carve-outs to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25-per-cent tariff threat. (As she confirmed in a news conference on Jan. 21, she is pushing for a national exemption, and not simply a provincial one.) Her social media feeds have documented her meeting with senators from West Virginia, Florida and Oklahoma, governors from North Dakota, Louisiana, Arkansas, Montana, Mississippi and others in the days before and after inauguration – and that’s following her visit to Mar-a-Lago earlier this month, where she had the direct ear of Mr. Trump.
