Lisa Baiton

Most Americans, like most Canadians, probably have no idea how important Canada is to American energy security and its comparatively cheap gasoline. But they may soon find out. Should Donald Trump’s threats of 25 per cent tariffs across the board on Canadian imports include oil and natural gas, there would be a crude awakening. Trump’s threat of across-the-board tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports is sending “shockwaves” through the Canadian business community, said Bridgitte Anderson, president of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade at an energy and resources forum Tuesday in Vancouver. …B.C. lumber exports to the U.S. are already subject to duties of about 15 per cent. Presumably, blanket tariffs on Canadian goods would add another 10 per cent. …While it’s not yet clear whether the threatened tariffs would include energy exports — oil, natural gas and electricity — Trump did make a point of upper-casing his threat to suggest they would apply to everything.