'Elbows up' isn't the right approach to Trump, says Saskatchewan premier

As opposition parties argue Prime Minister Mark Carney is failing to live up to his pledge to be "elbows up" against Donald Trump, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says he never thought that mentality was the right approach to dealing with the U.S. president's tariffs.

"They're still going to be our largest trading partner and probably still going to be our largest ally as we increase our military investment to keep our continent safe alongside the U.S.," Moe said in an interview with CBC's The House that aired Saturday morning.

"I've never thought 'elbows up' was the proper approach with respect to negotiating."

Carney's opponents have attacked him over the last few days after the prime minister said on Tuesday there's "not a lot of evidence right now" the U.S. is willing to cut a trade deal without some tariffs included.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a social media post on Tuesday that Carney's remarks are "another unilateral concession from a man who said he would never back down to the U.S. president."

WATCH | Blanchet says Carney should not have pledged to restore free trade with U.S.:

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, speaking a day after Prime Minister Mark Carney said a tariff-free deal with U.S. is unlikely, said he wants to see the lowest possible tariffs and ‘real’ negotiations for ‘all sectors of our entangled economies.’

On Wednesday, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet accused Carney of backpedalling. He told reporters on Parliament Hill the prime minister has "made compromises on so many things so far without achieving anything."

Carney has resisted placing additional counter tariffs on the U.S. after Trump raised steel and aluminum tariffs to 50 per cent. The prime minister also scrapped Canada's digital services tax to bring Trump back to the negotiating table in late June.

It's not clear whether those moves have helped Canada's negotiations, since talks are private. However, even after those decisions, Trump is still threatening 35 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods across the board.

Moe told host Cullen he's never been a fan of counter tariffs because they raise prices and "hurt Canadian families and Canadian businesses."

WATCH | Moe says the prime minister's goal is to have U.S. tariffs at zero or as low as possible:

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says that a U.S.-Canada trade deal with some level of U.S. tariffs is 'the reality of dealing not just with Donald Trump, but dealing in any international trade agreement.' Moe maintains that the prime minister's goal is to have tariffs at zero or as low as possible.

"I've always been more focused on what can we do to get people to the table, keep them at the table and hammer out that agreement."

The Saskatchewan premier said he hopes any U.S. tariffs are "small or not impactful to Canadian industries."

On Friday, when asked on CBC's Power & Politics whether she would see Carney's moves as capitulating to Trump, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said "absolutely not."

"I think there's a lot that goes into these negotiations, coming up with the best deal for our country, for our exporters, for our economy," Holt told guest host John Paul Tasker.

She also said her province wants "to make sure our seafood sector is walking away tariff-free" and it wants to see a path to a North American trade deal "that we can all be confident will be honoured in the years ahead."

On Tuesday, Canada's premiers will meet with Carney in Huntsville, Ont., to discuss Trump's latest tariff threat and how to strengthen Canada's economy by cutting interprovincial trade barriers.

Holt said she wants an update on the U.S. negotiations "because New Brunswick is very keen to see an elimination of this uncertainty" and she'll be discussing ways her province can boost ties with other regions of Canada.

During an interview on Power & Politics on Thursday, Moe said the agreements that some provinces have already made with each other to cut trade barriers are good, but he's pitching all provinces join the New West Trade Partnership Agreement (NWTPA).

The NWPTA was established in 2010 by Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C., with Manitoba joining in 2017. The agreement reconciles rules affecting trade, investment and labour mobility and has fewer exemptions than the Canadian Free Trade Agreement.

WATCH | What is stalling the removal of interprovincial trade barriers?:

Michele Cadario, executive vice-president of Rubicon Strategy Inc., says every province has its own trade legislation, and the federal government does not have overall responsibility to oversee their implementation. She tells BC Today guest host Amy Bell that negotiations need to get rid of excess regulation to achieve more unrestricted mobility in trade.

"Maybe it's time for us just to rip the Band-Aid off, and the most free and open trade agreement that we have in Canada is the New West Partnership," Moe said.

"To extend it to all provinces I think would be a positive. Not just for the province that I represent, but I think in the medium to long term, it'd be a real positive for all Canadians."