Trump is ‘unpredictable,’ B.C. premier says, ‘hard to feel relief’

British Columbia Premier David Eby says it’s hard to feel “relief” that the province dodged a proverbial bullet in terms of the United States president’s tariff announcement on Wednesday.

In a media availability Thursday, Eby said that U.S. President Donald Trump is unpredictable and could change his mind at any time.

“I think, like all British Columbians, and frankly, like all Canadians, you’d get whiplash if, if you followed the president’s every announcement as a source of direction,” Eby said. “So, the feeling that we have today, well, it’s not as bad as what some other countries are facing right now, is tempered by two things.

“One is the fact that what we’re already facing is quite devastating, for many sectors in British Columbia, including our softwood sector, our aluminum producers and other tariffs that affect our seafood producers, that are coming from China, as collateral damage in this increasingly-global trade war,” he added.

“And the other thing that tempers any kind of feeling of relief for me, anyway, is the fact that two hours from now on Truth Social, the president is going to put up another tweet about whatever and undo any sort of sense of security that we might have,” Eby said.

Eby said that while Wednesday’s announcement targeted most global countries and not Canada or Mexico, the B.C. government is expecting more punitive tariffs down the pipeline targeting the province’s softwood lumber sector.

Eby will be meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney, he said, and will urge him to take action.

“The president has attacked the entire world at the same time, and this does create an opportunity for us to deepen our relationship, to deepen our trading relationship, our security, for trade with countries that value democracy and that share our values as Canadians, and so when the prime minister comes to visit, we’re going to continue that conversation,” Eby said.

“But also, it’s important for the prime minister to understand the unique impacts of the president’s actions on British Columbia.

“The risk always with prime ministers, and with federal parties, is they get trapped in Ontario. They’re in Ontario all the time. They’re in Ottawa. They’re beside Quebec, literally just over a bridge, and they forget about the West,” Eby explained.

The premier said he will be pushing Carney to support local workers directly.

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With files from Srushti Gangdev.