The New Brunswick government has unveiled a plan to respond to tariffs implemented today by U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration. 

A 25 per cent tariff has been imposed on Canadian exports and 10 per cent on energy exports so far, with Trump promising further tariffs in April. 

“These illegal, unjustified tariffs will have heavy consequences for New Brunswick,” she said during a press conference. 

In New Brunswick, about 92 per cent of the exports go to the U.S., with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce showing Saint John is likely to be the most impacted city in the country. 

“These tariffs are an attack on Canada and on who we are and they mark a turning point for our province and our country,” she said. 

Holt unveiled a plan on Tuesday that includes four pillars, and about $160 million in aid. 

Some of those included:

• $33 million to the Department of Post Secondary Education, Training and Labour to “provide support and services to those whose jobs have been affected by the tariffs.”
• $5 million to help businesses sustain operations.
• $40 million for a “competitiveness and growth program to enhance the long-term sustainability of New Brunswick’s large export-intensive companies.” 
• $4 million to support the New Brunswick Fisheries Fund. 

There was also money allocated for communities being directly impacted by tariffs, like border communities. 

The government will also move to remove interprovincial trade barriers, to allow the Canadian economy to support itself more. 

Some of those included:

• Automatically recognizing certified workers from another jurisdiction for a minimum of 120 days, allowing them to obtain any necessary provincial credentials. 
• Removing nine, narrowing one, and considering six other party-specific exceptions under the Canada Free Trade Agreement
• Participating in direct-to-consumer sales of alcohol and eliminating personal exemptions for alcohol limits.

Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Jean Claude D’Amours said these remove about 50 per cent of the province’s exemptions. 

Holt said everything is on the table when it comes to retaliating against the trade war initiated by the Trump administration, but says cutting the energy supply to the northern parts of Maine is a tough decision to make. 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said he would cut energy supply to the nearly 1.5 million homes it powers in Michigan, Minnesota, and New York. 

“Our neighbours in Maine are our friends and we want to put serious consideration into decisions that might hurt people who have already spoken up against the tariffs that the president has illegally enacted,” she said. 

She said the government will consider shutting down the power in the future. 

Criticism from the opposition

Opposition Leader Glen Savoie criticised the plan, saying it lacks detail. 

“The taxpayers have been told to brace for another $160 million dollars in government spending with few details,” a statement from Savoie said. 

He said the tariffs from the Trump administration is a challenge that “demands big shifts in strategy and thinking.”

“It was disappointing to hear no reference at all to resource development as part of an overall strategy, but of course, no overall strategy was shared, either,” he said in the statement. 

Border mayors’ concerns

Holt said she has met with New Brunswick border mayors including with St. Stephen Mayor Allan MacEachern. 

She said there was a lot of talk about border security, including outmigration. Fears have risen about immigrants in the U.S. fleeing deportation who may try to enter Canada illegally. 

“We were talking about the additional surveillance and monitoring that New Brunswick and the Canadian government had put on the border, the impact of the Blackhawk that some community members were seeing, of the drones … that was the main discussion at that time.

“But now, it might be the economic impacts,” she said. 

The Border Mayors Alliance, which includes St. Stephen’s Allan MacEachern, released a statement on Tuesday saying they are on the frontlines of the trade war. 

“Let us be clear: we will not stand by,” it read. “Canada and the United States share the most successful trade relationship in human history, valued at approximately $950 billion per year supporting millions of jobs on both sides of the border.”