WASHINGTON — Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson — the latest Liberal to visit Washington in response to president-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats — is making a pitch for a Canada-U. S. energy and resource alliance.
Wilkinson told American lawmakers Wednesday that the best way for the U.S. to protect its economic dominance and national security from China is to work with Canada.
“The U.S. cannot be energy-dominant without Canadian energy,” Wilkinson said during a panel discussion at the Wilson Center’s Canada Institute on Wednesday.
Trump intends to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all imports from Canada when he returns to the White House next week.
Wilkinson said that threat is “little bit difficult to understand.”
Canadian electricity powers the equivalent of six million American homes, the U.S. imports four million barrels of Canadian oil per day and Canada supplies natural gas to parts of the Pacific Northwest and California, the minister said.
He also cited the United States’ reliance on Canadian uranium, potash and critical minerals.
Wilkinson suggested an early goal of the Trump administration should be to build an energy and resource alliance with Canada, instead of imposing damaging new tariffs.
He said Canada and the U.S. should invest jointly in mining and processing critical minerals to lessen both countries’ reliance on China. He also suggested increasing the flow of oil and potash from the Prairies to the U.S.
“None of this is possible if we get in a tit-for-tat exchange,” Wilkinson said.
Despite many calls for a unified response to the tariff threat, federal and provincial leaders have not yet agreed on how Canada should react.
Some have argued all options must be on the table. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called for retaliatory tariffs on critical minerals, which have seen significant recent investment from the U.S. Department of Defence.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said she will not support tariffs on oil, arguing it would cause a national unity crisis.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2025.
Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
