Can someone make this make sense? With the Carney government having raised tariffs on imported steel, some Western Canadian users of steel now find that they’re uncompetitive. Rather than instantly resolve the problem by dropping the tariffs, taxpayers will instead be forced to cover half the shipping costs of steel orders from mills in the east.
Under a new Commodities Sectoral Support Program announced on Monday, steel shippers can apply for a rebate that will offset 50 per cent of the costs to ship domestic steel by rail or marine transport across provinces and territories.
“There’s no rebar business in B.C. that’s flourishing right now,” Michaud said. “Everybody is doing the work, just at a massively reduced profit margin. Shipping it from the East is just not very good financially.”
That sounds an awful lot like a golden opportunity for Alberta. My understanding is that Alberta is flush in metallurgical coal, and has all the resources to really ramp up domestic production of Steel. They’d have to build up brand-new extraction and refining infrastructure. BUT, they have all the tools, and it would be a solid investment in their future (whatever it may be). BC wouldn’t have to rely on what amounts to temporary (until it runs out) tranportation subsidies. They could just deal with their neighbor while telling Eastern Canada to stick it.
Ohhhhhhh mommmmaaaaaaa … Trump FORCED Carney to impose tariffs on Canadian steel. The Marmot said so. And tariffs are TAXES on the Canadian people.
We all had FREE and FAIR Trade before MAGA dumped Trump in our laps … Right?
Things you have to believe to be a ‘True Conservative’
Well, the tariffs on our country certainly is showing us! Elbows up!
“…ship domestic steel by rail or marine transport across provinces and territories.”
Les Voyageurs are going to need bigger canoes…….
This 2600 mile one way trip must have been great fun. York Factory on Hudson Bay to Fort Vancouver Oregon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York_Factory_Express
It’s a liberal government…it will never make sense.
I hope Alberta and Saskatchewan are getting a cut of anything that ships through our provinces.
I lived in Regina for 12+ years. What about Evraz which was just north of me off of Pasqua?
It’s not really about the tariffs (although your interprovincial trade structure has always been a confusion to me; oh well, you do you). The only issue is that your country has culturally/politically become wedded to the notion of them, which leads to the development of the real issue (see below):
It’s about the infrastructure and logistics — you don’t have them. and I’m not sure you have the money or time to develop them…other than some other country coming in and doing it for you and demanding huge concessions (like your sovereignty) out of you.
At the moment, your citizens seem to be obsessed about the threat posed by my country. However, as the post about the Ice Silk Road points out, you should have probably paid attention to some other countries’ threats. You haven’t, and now you really are becoming quite a problem for my country.
Cheers and enjoy!
and guess whut. if, IF steel production begins on AB, oh look, *right from the 1st day of independence* we’se got the means of SELF SUFFICIENCY.
but Carnage WILL summon the military if it comes to that to derail ANY successful referendum. crossed all the Ts dotted all the Is, STILL resorts to violence and muscle. aaaaaaahh but que? bec? seems the laurentian elites *knew right from the start* ’twas merely bluff and blackmail.
soooooooooooooooo they get a pass.
l want fauci dead.
The Albertan politicians in charge aren’t going to let you become independent; they know where their bread is buttered. And you have growing population of people in Alberta who do not want to be independent. These are probably related.
Carney won’t have to summon the military.
The Liberal (il)logic here is beginning to resemble the infamous “Chewbacca Defense” from South Park:
“Ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, I have one final thing I want you to consider. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Chewbacca. Chewbacca is a Wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk. But Chewbacca lives on the planet Endor. Now think about it; that does not make sense! Why would a Wookiee, an 8-foot-tall Wookiee, want to live on Endor, with a bunch of 2-foot-tall Ewoks? That does not make sense! But more important, you have to ask yourself: What does this have to do with this case? Nothing. Ladies and gentlemen, it has nothing to do with this case! It does not make sense! Look at me. I’m a lawyer defending a major record company, and I’m talkin’ about Chewbacca! Does that make sense? Ladies and gentlemen, I am not making any sense! None of this makes sense! And so you have to remember, when you’re in that jury room deliberatin’ and conjugatin’ the Emancipation Proclamation, does it make sense? No! Ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, it does not make sense! If Chewbacca lives on Endor, you must acquit! The defense rests.”
Explanation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewbacca_defense
The Chewbacca Defense in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV6NoNkDGsU
Food Prof thinks this might be done for dairy, as Ottawa is forced to accept reverting to a pricing agreement they made under CUSMA. Estimated payments to dairy farmers of $ 1+ billion?
It always amazes me how much our politicians are willing to spend to resolve problems resulting from policies they previously implemented and then brag ‘we spent $$$ on the problem’. If they had a clue they would fix the original problem and save the bucks – but that wouldn’t get votes.
Totally agree. Canada should not retaliate against US tariffs because tariffs drives up prices in the importing country. Just because another country puts rocks in its harbour doesn’t mean we should.
Imagine what it must be like to be a US company that uses a ton of aluminum.
https://www.spglobal.com/energy/en/news-research/latest-news/metals/060426-year-of-the-tariff-us-aluminum-end-users-endure-major-tariff-headwinds
“Totally agree. Canada should not retaliate against US tariffs because”
Because the US *obviously* can afford to counter-retaliate until the Canadian economy collapses completely, if they choose to.
This is a childish, stubborn game that we simply CAN NOT WIN. We never could, right from the start. Anyone who says otherwise is either lying through their teeth or delusional.
I agree because this is a pissing match. No one wins.
At least Carney probably understands that. I doubt Trump does.
“I agree because this is a pissing match. No one wins.”
Wrong: the USA wins, and Canada loses. Which was, as you have been told many times already, the INEVITABLE outcome given the size and power disparity between us. Reality still doesn’t care about you feelings, no matter hard hard you try to spin this.
“At least Carney probably understands that. I doubt Trump does.”
Trump knows he is negotiating from a position of strength and holds all the cards. Carney is only looking for a way to save face before he kneels and kisses the ring.
Ya see, that’s my problem. I don’t listen to you idiots. I look at the evidence.
Does the US look like it's winning something? Almost none of Trump's campaign promises have been kept. The economy is lacklustre, inflation is still high, job growth is non-existent. the balance of trade has barely budged, and the US is mired in a war with Iran that it has no idea how to get out of.
And the federal debt. My god. The deficit is 5.8% of GDP and won't be coming down anytime soon. The last 30-year-old treasure bond auction did not go well, and that should make everyone nervous.
Raw power isn't enough. The US has to be smart. It's fiscal, economic, and foreign policies are a catastrophe, destroying international trust in the country. And the US needs that trust, because it needs people to buy its debt.
The latest round of trade talks with Canada is just part of that picture. It exemplifies everything that’s wrong with the Trump administration. Instead of seeking free trade and strong allies, it does the opposite, shooting itself in the foot.
Oh, the fiery urine of the pissing match…
“There’s no rebar business in B.C. that’s flourishing right now,”
So WTF do they do with their old car bodies?
So I wonder how much of the cost is due to interprovincial trade barriers.
So far as I know, Carney didn’t raise the tariffs on steel. The original 25% steel tariffs were imposed by Trudeau in March 2025. Carney extended those tariffs to include steel products last December. But it’s still 25%.
“Can someone make this make sense?”
“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” Ronaldus Magnus
We are now at the subsidizing part. Simple as that.
Confederation is the problem, seperation the answer.