BC Premier David Eby at the Council of the Federation summer meeting in Charlottetown, PEI on July 21, 2026. [livestream]
Wednesday August 19, 2026 | VICTORIA, BC [Posted 10:10 pm PT]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
In these fresh hours after Canada held off yet another US tariff threat, Prime Minister Mark Carney met this afternoon with his cabinet.
Right after that he chaired a First Ministers’ meeting with Canada’s 13 premiers of the 10 provinces and three territories, including information being provided by Canada’s trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc who has been leading negotiations for Canada in the US. Chief negotiator Janice Charette participated remotely from Washington.
Both meetings were virtual and closed to media.
Carney asks premiers to be collaborative and stay focused:
In a statement issued in the afternoon, Prime Minister Carney said that in his meeting with the prime ministers that he “underscored the importance of a strong Team Canada approach”.
He emphasized “continued collaboration with provincial and territorial governments as the federal government works to finalize a deal with the United States”.
For some provinces — like Ontario and BC — that will mean putting US alcohol products back on liquor store shelves (that was a form of protest by those provinces to show their dismay with Trump’s trade war).
Canrey wants the premiers to remain focused on Canada’s central economic strategy, which he described as “building our economic strength at home nad diversifying our partners abroad”. In other words, don’t overreact or get distracted by Trump’s antics.
“That is how we will build a stronger, more independent, and more resilient Canadian economy,” said Carney.
BC’s response:
“BC stands with Team Canada,” said Premier David Eby in a statement around 5 pm PT today.
Statement by BC Premier David Eby after Carney briefs the premiers on tariff situation with USA, Aug 19, 2026. [X]
“While no agreement will offer everything our country is hoping for, the federal government has made substantial progress across strategic sectors.”, he said, adding that he’s hopes about “the possibility of an agreement”.
BC will continue to push forward to find new trading partners and secure major projects, toward a stronger more resilient economy that benefits everyone, said Eby.
BC has its Look West Strategy for a wide-sweep socioeconomic approach to revising and strengthening BC’s economy toward a more diversified functionality. The strategy includes major project investment (including in the energy sector), expansion of the electricity grid, trades training, training in support services (like child care), and more.
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