Braid: NDP Leader Nenshi blasts Smith as a ‘showboat’ on tariff crisis​on February 5, 2025 at 11:18 pm

Many Albertans think Premier Danielle Smith has done a great job on the tariff crisis.

NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi and his official Opposition are not among them.

Nenshi says Smith is a “showboat” who plays the tariff crisis more for attention than effect.

“Premier Smith is obsessed with being the centre of attention, talking about what she’s doing but not actually doing the work,” Nenshi said in an interview Tuesday.

“It’s fascinating that her story keeps changing, because she’s desperately trying to take credit.”

In a blistering critique, Nenshi said Smith loves to post photos of herself with U.S. leaders, but it’s not clear she’s actually meeting them and getting anything done.

“When she realizes something is about to happen, she jumps the gun and announces it first. She’s done it a few times now, so something looks like it was her idea.”

Nenshi doesn’t give Smith any credit for the 30-day pause in tariffs.

“Credit for what? We still have the Sword of Damocles hanging over us.

“We’ve gotten some small victories. But anybody taking a victory lap right now is making a terrible mistake, because we know that there’s going to be a massive (economic) restructuring.

“Let’s be very clear on what her strategy was. It was to promise Kevin O’Leary the world in return for an invitation to Mar-a-Lago.

“She believed that if she got to Mar-a-Lago and got her 30 seconds with President Trump, that she would charm him into abandoning his entire economic policy.

“It really doesn’t sound like that was going to work, does it?

“At best, the border work will only delay what they (the Americans) are planning on doing anyway, and we have to make sure that we’re ready for that.”

Nenshi referred to U.S. demands for a complete makeover of Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade. Trump threatens 25 per cent tariffs on that issue, too.

Smith has focused on U.S. complaints about the border. On Wednesday, she again backed appointment of a drug and border “czar.” She plans more U.S. trips to influence legislators.

Smith says immediate progress on the border is crucial to keep Trump from imposing tariffs after the 30-day pause. In this phase, she warns, any slacking off would mean tariffs, for sure.

But she has never said that the further economic talks will not be extremely difficult. Smith warns against assuming the battle is already won.