B.C. government to announce new legislation amid escalating trade war

The provincial government is set to unveil its next move in the trade war.

The B.C. government is set to unveil its next move in the ongoing Canada-U.S. trade war.

The premier is expected to announce new legislation enabling B.C. to respond to tariff threats from the U.S.

David Eby and Attorney General Niki Sharma are scheduled to hold a press conference Thursday afternoon.

“British Columbia will work across the country. Team Canada approach. We have additional measures that we’re considering, and we’re going to be bringing some of that stuff forward really soon,” said Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Ravi Kahlon.

Kahlon is the chair of a cabinet committee aimed at protecting B.C.’s economy from tariffs.

“We have the markets continuing to crash. People’s pensions are being wiped away, and the president continues to isolate America from the rest of the world. It’s a shame. We should be avoiding these tariffs if we can, but clearly, the president wants to advance, and so we’re going to continue to respond,” said Kalhon.

The government has been announcing escalations every few days since tariffs went into effect. Eby’s first move was to remove liquor from so-called red states from store shelves.

On Monday, he expanded that to all American alcohol.

His government has also introduced measures that would allow the province to apply tolls and fees to U.S. commercial trucks bound for Alaska.

The B.C. government says it is also working to prioritize domestic producers in all areas of government procurement, directing Crown corporations to favour B.C. and Canadian suppliers for everything they buy.

Eby has said his government is working to diversify markets for B.C. products to become less reliant on American markets, regardless of whether or not the threatened tariffs are in place.

One sector B.C. will not be retaliating on is electricity to the U.S. Eby says our grid is too integrated and he’s concerned about high rates for B.C. Hydro.