Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said she was happy to see an Alberta response to US tariffs, but questioned the deployment of a $4 billion tariff fund and the province’s obsession with border security.

Mayor Gondek made the comments at Calgary city hall on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after Premier Danielle Smith held a press conference in Medicine Hat to outline steps the province will take in response to US tariffs.

Premier Smith announced that she has instructed the Alberta cabinet to alter procurement practices to ensure the Government of Alberta, agencies, school boards and Crown corporations purchase needed goods and services from within Alberta, from across Canada or “from countries with which Canada has a free trade agreement that is being honoured.”

Alberta will also no longer purchase alcohol or Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) from the US, through Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis. The province will also be supporting grocers and other retailers to label Made In Canada products, and ask them to voluntarily purchase from Alberta, Canada or countries where trade agreements are honoured.

“This economic attack on our country, combined with Mr. Trump’s continued talk of using economic force to facilitate the annexation of our country has broken trust between our two nations in a profound way,” Smith said.

“It is a betrayal of a deep and abiding friendship.”

Premier Smith also said they would enter into free trade and mobility agreements with other provinces.

“I also want to point out that Canada has a secret weapon in this trade conflict with the United States, a trump card, so to speak. It is located directly under our feet, and it is called Alberta energy,” she said.

“Whether the US President wishes to admit it or not, the United States not only needs our oil and gas today, they are also going to need it more and more with each passing year, once they notice their declining domestic reserves and production are wholly insufficient to keep up with the energy demands of US consumers and industry, let alone having anything left over to export, as they do today.”

During the same press conference, Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis outlined some of the ongoing work to protect the Alberta-US border.

Mayor Gondek questioned the obsession with the flow of fentanyl across borders and the added security.

“Just because President Trump manufactured a boogeyman and named it fentanyl, doesn’t mean we have to play into his hand,” she said.

“He made fentanyl at the border, the red herring, and this provincial government can’t seem to shake that. Trying to appease a bully like Trump is not the Canadian way. We stand up to bullies, and we do that, elbows up, standing strong together.”

In a piece by the Council on Foreign Relations, it says “Canada plays virtually no role in the U.S. fentanyl influx,” accounting for less than one per cent of street drug level activity with fentanyl.

Premier Smith did acknowledge to reporters that the US needs to take some accountability for its role in the proliferation of the illegal drug supply in North America.

Plans for a $4 billion tariff fund

Mayor Gondek said it was nice to hear the province is taking action in retaliation but felt as though there’s no plan to assist the citizens and businesses in Alberta in the wake of tariffs.

“We need solutions that are designed to provide relief to businesses who will be the hardest hit; oil, agriculture, manufacturing, they all sounded the alarm well before the tariffs actually went into place,” Mayor Gondek said.

“We need a plan from the province that addresses the very real needs of people and businesses in Calgary.”

The mayor questioned what the province’s $4 billion tariff contingency fund would be used for. She said provincial Finance Minister Nate Horner told cities that there is no plan for how that money will be used, and that it’s a wait-and-see approach, until people are potentially in welfare lines due to the tariffs.

“That’s too late, and we don’t have the luxury of time. Waiting until people have lost their livelihoods is not a plan,” Mayor Gondek said.

“Offering income tax cuts to people who don’t have a job is not a plan.”

Mayor Gondek said she’d like a tariff advisory group struck Alberta-wide, similar to what she’s done here in Calgary. She said business leaders have told her they need supports, as they know the impact of the tariffs on their industry. The mayor said these are conversations the province should be having with businesses to understand what they need.

“I can give you an example of film and television, it’s a booming business in our province. Let’s make sure that stays strong by creating more incentive programs,” Mayor Gondek said.

“Let’s make sure we’re understanding what the impacts are to these producers who came up yesterday and said their industry is getting hit very hard. If you’re not talking to the people who are telling you they’re going to suffer, you’re not going to be able to come up with solutions, and that’s what I need the provincial government to do.”

On Tuesday, Mayor Gondek outlined the incremental work the City of Calgary is doing on the tariff front, including a review of procurement and providing information for local businesses.

The mayor said they would be convening the second round of the local tariff advisory group meetings here in Calgary in the coming days.