Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is defending her plan to fly to Florida to appear at an event alongside a far-right U.S. influencer who calls Canada “a silly country,” saying it is her duty to do everything she can to reach out to Americans to prevent tariffs.
Smith is to make a speaking appearance Thursday with conservative media personality Ben Shapiro at a fundraiser for PragerU amid continued calls from the Opposition NDP for her to abandon the trip.
In a fiery exchange in the house, Smith accused Opposition New Democrats of being defensive because they have done “zilch” to push back on the tariffs.
“The way you actually influence the decision on tariffs is you talk to American influencers,” said Smith, at times reading a list of elected U.S. officials and business leaders she has met with.
NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said Smith is using taxpayer money to fundraise for an extremist, Islamophobic organization that denies the history of American slavery.
Christina Gray, who leads the NDP in the house, responded to the premier’s taunts with her own list of meetings Nenshi has attended with political leaders.
“We have not called any racist Islamophobes who want to annex Canada,” said Gray.
Smith’s office has noted that Shapiro, the media personality she’s set to meet in Florida, believes the U.S. should lower tariffs on Canadian goods.
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Shapiro has also written social media posts suggesting support for U.S. President Donald Trump’s idea of annexing Canada as America’s 51st state.
Shapiro has suggested Canada could become the “Puerto Rico” of the north, and that Canadians shouldn’t be allowed to vote in American elections.
“When we take Canada, you will be expelled to Panama to work the canal,” Shapiro posted on the social media site X in response to a post made by then-prime minister Justin Trudeau in January.
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