Eby says B.C. making contingency plans to reduce reliance on U.S. electricity

British Columbia Premier David Eby says the government is making contingency plans to reduce the province’s reliance on electricity from the United States after the start of the continental trade war.

He says similar planning happens in the event of natural disasters and now it’s due to a “man-made disaster” created by U.S. President Donald Trump, who imposed sweeping tariffs on Canadian imports on Tuesday.

Eby says uncertainty and potential instability coming from south of the border mean the province needs backup plans so B.C. will never again be “so dependent on the United States.”

The premier said B.C. had been forced into contingency planning after Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatened to cut off electricity it provides three border states, resulting in concerns the U.S. could respond in kind.

Eby says the U.S. federal agency through which B.C. buys and sometimes sells electricity has recently been “seriously” weakened by layoffs orchestrated by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, adding to concerns.

“The chaos, the uncertainty and potential instability that these kinds of decisions cause, means we have to have backup plans in place,” Eby told media Wednesday afternoon.

He says Energy Minister Adrian Dix is working towards an agreement with Alberta to find ways to sell electricity across the Rocky Mountains.

The premier later addressed the legislative assembly about the trade war, saying Canadians would keep their “elbows up” and it would be a “grave mistake” to see their politeness as weakness.

Opposition Conservative Leader John Rustad said in his response that the province needed to do everything it could to end the “vulnerability” created by importing 20 to 30 per cent of its electricity from the U.S.

—With files from Charles Brockman