‘Terrible tariff Tuesday’ takes forefront at UCP town hall in Medicine Hat

By Brendan Miller SOUTHERN ALBERTA NEWSPAPERS bmiller@medicinehatnews.com on March 5, 2025.

Medicine Hat News photo by Brendan Miller Danielle Smith, MLA Brooks-Medicine Hat, joins Justin Wright, MLA Cypress-Medicine Hat, to host a town hall discussion at the Medicine Hat College theatre Tuesday night.

Premier Danielle Smith attended a town hall discussion with Justin Wright, MLA Cypress-Medicine Hat, in front of approximately 350 residents to answer a series of eight pre-screened questions as well as taking questions live in-person from a microphone.

Speaking just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods and a 10 per cent tariff on all Canadian energy resources, Smith opened her remarks calling the day “a terrible tariff Tuesday.”

“The tariffs imposed by the U.S. president are an unjustifiable economic attack on Canada and on Albertans,” said Smith. “It’s a blatant violation of our free trade agreement, and it’s the same free trade agreement that the U.S. president was bragging about in his first administration.”

Smith says the tariffs will harm residents on both sides of the border by making food, fuel, vehicles and housing more expensive. Simultaneously Smith says thousands of Canadian and American jobs are now at risk.

“We knew that tariffs had their own penalty, and so now Americans are responding to that, and I hope that they have a lot of people calling them so they can get them reversed,” she said.

Smith also says Canada needs to expand trade with markets in Europe and Asia and find new trade partners for Canadian energy, agriculture and manufactured products.

“Where it’s going to really hurt is the agriculture sector,” explained Smith, who says canola production will also be impacted.

Smith told those attending the town hall that her priority right now is working with other provinces to reduce interprovincial trade barriers.

“Right now, our priority is working together as a team of provinces, to deal with the U.S. tariff threat and start acting more like a country again, to start trading east to west as opposed to north to south.”

As well, the premier says she supports more military spending to ensure Canada can protect its borders.

“Now is the time for us to unite as a province and a country,” reads a social media post by Smith. “We must do everything in our collective power to immediately tear down provincial trade barriers and fast-track the construction of dozens of resource projects, from pipelines to LNG facilities to critical minerals projects.”

This afternoon during an announcement in Medicine Hat, Smith is expected to provide more information on the province’s plan to counter U.S. tariffs as well as discussions to end the tariffs.

Smith also touched on the 2025 provincial budget and highlighted how it impacts Medicine Hat.

The province will provide a total of $5 million for facility improvements to both the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital and the Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge to improve urgent care access in both cities.

“So that more people can receive more service close to home, rather than having to go to Calgary or Edmonton to receive care,” Smith said.

The premier also touted tax cuts announced in the budget that will have a direct impact on Albertans this tax season.

Both Smith and Wright spoke about working toward speeding up road construction for the Highway 3 twinning project closer to Medicine Hat, but could not provide specific dates.

Smith also highlighted the province’s $29 million in increased spending to tighten security at the Alberta border and spoke about investments to improve the city’s flood mitigation process as well as $1 million in funding for the Women’s Shelter Society.

Smith was also pressed by members of the audience about proposed coal mining in Grassy Mountain and issues with the health-care system.

Wright also addressed the ongoing situation with the city’s homelessness issue and spoke about providing support to local businesses who may be affected by newly imposed tariffs.