With an inconveniently prorogued Parliament and the U.S. president threatening some very un-ally-like tariff threats, Canada’s premiers have decided to defend themselves. For Alberta’s Danielle Smith, this manifested as a friendly trip to Mar-a-Lago; Doug Ford, on the other hand, leaned into dealmaking and merch.
For David Eby, B.C.’s premier and leader of the provincial NDP, however, it meant war. He’s adopted an economic eye-for-an-eye approach, and nothing is off the table—not export bans, not travel boycotts and certainly not retaliatory import tariffs, right down to Florida orange juice.
The power-premier pose makes sense: excluding Trump, Eby’s province is in a time of serious flux. Along with political live wires—like involuntary drug treatment, screen bans in schools and out-of-control home prices—his cabinet is planning an economic future for B.C. beyond lumber and minerals. Climate change is hitting the Okanagan hard. Vancouver, meanwhile, is flirting with becoming the new Hollywood North (condolences, Toronto) and, despite the risks, a bit more cryptocurrency-friendly. I spoke to Eby about it the day after the premiers’ recent strategy meeting—and three weeks before their forthcoming trade mission to Washington.
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—Katie Underwood, managing editor, Maclean’s
