Smith defending Alberta’s interests: MLA Hunter

Posted on February 6, 2025 by admin

By Heather Cameron
Southern Alberta Newspapers
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

During the M.D. of Taber Council meeting that took place on January 28, Taber-Warner MLA Grant Hunter visited with Council to provide them with a recap of 2024.

One of the topics that MLA Hunter touched upon was the state of affairs at the federal level.

“We have a federal election that’s going to happen I hope sooner than later,” said MLA Hunter. “Unfortunately, there’s a vacuum in Ottawa right now. There’s no very little leadership. In fact, the leadership is all over the place.”

MLA Hunter firmly emphasized to Council that it is a bad time to have a vacuum in Ottawa.

“Because of that, our Premier went down to the States to try to be able to talk President Trump down from the 25 percent tariffs,” said MLA Hunter. “Now, there are those who called her unpatriotic, un-Canadian, and all sorts of slanderous things. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

In reality, MLA Hunter stated, Premier Danielle Smith travelled down to visit with U.S. President Trump in good faith and managed to ‘stave off’ a day one 25 percent tariff that was scheduled to be added to all Canadian products. Premier Smith, MLA Hunter stated, truly had ‘a great opportunity’ to speak with both President Trump and many other politicians.

Ultimately, however, U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Saturday, February 1, 2025, that outlined his plan to impose 25 percent tariffs on most Canadian goods with a lower 10 percent tariff on Canadian energy. 

Just hours before the tariffs were due to take effect, however, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on February 3, 2025, that there would be a 30-day pause on the implementation of planned tariffs on imports from Canada following conversations with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in which Prime Minister Trudeau agreed to increase security at the border, list cartels as terrorist entities, launch a joint strike force with the U.S. to combat organized crime, fentanyl trafficking, and money laundering, and appoint a ‘fentanyl czar’ according to a post he made on X.

MLA Hunter warned Council that things are going to become ‘extremely difficult’ for both Alberta and Canada if the tariffs truly come into effect.

MLA Hunter was also very clear in that ‘conversations are still being had’ about what the government is willing or able to do regarding local projects, such as the $6.5 million that is still needed for the Horsefly Emergency Spillway Project. MLA Hunter was also clear in that Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board Nate Horner is ‘keeping everything close to the chest’ regarding what will happen because the Government of Alberta does not currently know what is going to happen in the States and how that will affect the bottom line in Alberta’s budget. 

The government, MLA Hunter stated, was expecting to have a 2.5 GDP growth in Alberta in 2025, but the tariffs could ultimately cause a negative two percent growth if they materialize.

A motion was made that Council receive MLA Hunter’s report as presented and the motion was carried.