U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy. One expert says there’s a lot of uncertainty as to what this could mean for the oil and gas industry in Alberta.
“It makes no sense at any level that this could be happening,” said Richard Masson, an energy expert. “There will be so many people in the board rooms of our energy companies trying to understand what this means.
“If the amount we sell into the U.S is less than normal, then there could be oversupply here in Western Canada and consumer prices might go down a little bit, which is not a good thing because it means government revenues are going down and company revenues are going down and companies are thinking should I be investing or laying off people.”
While the tariffs will impact both sides of the border, Masson says he’s optimistic that Alberta’s energy sector will manage its way through this.
“It’s gonna hurt U.S. consumers, but it’s not necessarily so much that it’s gonna make us consumers stop buying gasoline,” said Masson. So, if there’s no reduction in demand for Canadian crude, then U.S. refiners are just gonna have to pay that import tax and pass it on to their customers.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she was disappointed with the announcement that the U.S. will place a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy products, as well as a 25 per cent tariff on all other Canadian goods.
In a post on X Saturday, she said the province will continue to try to convince U.S. president to reverse course on the tariffs the U.S. is imposing on Canadian goods. She also attributed the reduced oil and gas tariff to the advocacy of her government and the energy industry south of the border.
The Business Council of Alberta echoing these concerns, saying these tariffs will have significant consequences on Alberta’s economy. They said, “While some level of retaliation is necessary, actions like excessively broad export tariffs or energy restrictions would only weaken our competitiveness.”
“Canada needs to do something to make sure that it doesn’t get cut off in a trade war because we don’t know how bad this can get and it could get bad,” said Masson.
Trump signed an executive order on Saturday to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods and a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy starting Tuesday.