Statement on U.S. Tariffs Announcement

NOTE: The following is a statement from Premier Tim Houston.

In the past few months, we’ve seen Canada’s relationship with the United States drastically evolve.

We’ve lived on pins and needles wondering if the U.S. would honour its trade agreements and respect our long-standing relationship as friends and allies.

But we didn’t sit idly by and wait. We came together as a country and province like never before.

We’ve seen entire industries raise their hands and offer to accept retaliatory tariffs, impacting them at their great expense, because they felt it right to put the country before self.

That is who we are as Canadians, and it will never change.

Today, some Canadians are taking a breath.

While it appears that Canada may not have been hit with the worst-case scenario in terms of tariffs, thousands of Nova Scotians will be impacted.

I also want to recognize the impact that the buildup to this moment has had on businesses and people. This entire experience has been a huge drain on the mental health of Canadians, and thousands of Nova Scotians are exhausted from the stress of dealing with this uncertainty and instability.

But please know that we are here for you.

We will do whatever it takes to protect you.

You did nothing wrong.

Moving forward, there will still be impacts from the trade direction of the U.S. administration. Our work to diversify markets will not change. In fact, it will ramp up. And, of course, we will work with those who remain impacted on both an individual basis and larger-scale programming basis, as needed.

This could mean loans, grants, support for diversification or whatever. We will work with you to find the best support for your circumstance.

During this period of uncertainty, the initial non-tariff retaliatory measures we put in place will remain.

This means we will continue to look for ways to put Nova Scotia and Canadian companies first as we review and cancel non-essential contracts with U.S. suppliers.

The increased tolls at the Cobequid Pass for commercial vehicles from the U.S. will remain.

American alcohol will remain off the shelves of the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. stores.

The message from this experience remains and we have heard it loud and clear – putting too many eggs in one basket is never a good idea. This is why we will work hard to ensure that Nova Scotia becomes more and more self-reliant.

We will do this through developing our natural resources. We have tremendous resource wealth. By capitalizing on our natural resources, we can and must secure our province’s energy and economic security.

We will continue to lead the country on removing interprovincial trade barriers. We passed a first-of-its-kind law to help remove internal trade barriers and improve labour mobility. I expect you will see other provinces signing on over the coming weeks.

Finally, I want to thank Prime Minister Carney for his leadership. This is not an easy time for our country or our people. Canadians are patient people, but the “governor” references and “51st state” jokes grew old and angered Canadians. Your approach seems to be working as we have collectively noticed these derogatory messages have stopped. Thank you.

I remain committed to Team Canada and to the people of Nova Scotia. We will be ready no matter how this relationship evolves. But I believe that the strength of our longtime friendship with the U.S. will ultimately prevail. It has survived wars, recessions and pandemics, and it will survive this administration.

We are stronger as a nation when we stand together.

As always, I am committed to you and your family.