British Columbia (BC) Premier David Eby announced on November 3rd that the province would cancel an “anti-tariff” digital advertising campaign that was scheduled to launch in the United States this month. The background to this is that US President Donald Trump ended trade negotiations with Canada due to anti-tariff ads by the Ontario government aimed at the US, and Trump has now threatened to raise tariffs on Canada by another 10% if the Ontario ads are not immediately removed.
Even after the negotiations were terminated, Premier Eby maintained his firm stance that BC’s advertising plan would continue. The BC ad was intended to protest the US’s tariff hike on lumber, and was different in content from the Ontario ad.
The announcement of the cancellation of the ads was made at a press conference following a meeting with federal forestry ministers in Vancouver. The meeting was attended by Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Canada-US Trade, among others.
Premier Eby stated, “I understand that the reaction to Ontario’s ads has caused concern among many stakeholders, including the federal government,” and stated that going forward, the province will coordinate its public relations efforts with the federal government and will no longer run ads on its own.
The government also announced that the change in policy was a decision of the provincial government, not a request from Minister Leblanc, and that the federal government has promised to work in tandem with the provincial government in supporting the forestry industry.