Premier Eby says U.S. tariffs will force B.C. into recession

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      Premier David Eby pulled no punches Tuesday about the effects U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs could have on the B.C., claiming they could send the province into a worse recession than in 2008. Jack Morse reports.

      B.C. Premier David Eby says U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed 25 per cent tariffs on all goods from Canada will likely throw the country and province into an economic situation worse than the 2008 recession.

      In the face of what he has called “unjustified” and “unnecessary” tariffs, Eby says his government’s internal projections show signs of an oncoming recession.

      Speaking in Vancouver Tuesday, he claimed Quebec and Ontario will be hit the hardest.

      “With their integrated auto market with the United States, they are in a very different position than British Columbia,” said Eby.

      But the U.S. is B.C.’s most significant export customer, with $26.4 billion of goods purchased in 2024. In 2022, the U.S. accounted for 57 per cent of the province’s commodity exports.

      Eby says B.C. is expected to be the “least-affected province,” but his cabinet is preparing all the same.

      He says he’s asking every single minister to look at the programs in their ministries and ask if it lives up to the demands of the oncoming economy.

      “And so if it doesn’t meet the moment for tariffs, then it has to be revisited and redirected to the support that people need,” said Eby.

      He says he’s asking the federal government for relief plans, similar to those employed during the COVID-19 pandemic response.

      Eby says retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports will generate billions of dollars for the federal government, which he says should be “immediately deployed across the country to individually affected businesses.”

      He says federal loans, grants, and employment insurance should be provided as well.

      “These are the kinds of responses that we expect to see this period.”

      Eby says he hopes Trump takes note of the effect the tariffs will have on both sides of the border and calls them off.

      “There’s always the possibility that we don’t see those kinds of impacts, or we don’t see the tariffs, or they’re different than were advertised. You just never know,” said Eby.

      “But British Columbia should know that we are preparing for the worst, and we’re going to be in a position to support them alongside the federal government.”

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