All aboard as Team P.E.I. bus departs on mission to discourage U.S. tariffs

Premier Dennis King and about two dozen P.E.I. government officials and industry leaders packed onto a bus Sunday for a five-day road trip through the northeastern United States.

The trip is aimed at strengthening business and political partnerships as the looming threat of trade tariffs becomes closer to reality.

The group, wearing black Team P.E.I. jackets and tuques, will bunk in Bangor, Maine, on Sunday night before making other stops in Maine and New Hampshire en route to Boston.

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has said he will impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods when he takes office Jan. 20 to address a trade deficit and encourage Canada to strengthen its border security.

King said the tariff would have a "devastating impact" on P.E.I.'s economy, measured in hundreds of millions of dollars, and Islanders expect him to take action. They will be meeting with state senators, consumers and business groups in hopes of getting a message to Trump.

"We really just want to go down and have a very positive exchange with all of the people who we do business with across the border and try to talk to as many consumers as we can to make sure they know that trade with Canada is a very positive job creator for the United States.

"And this long standing relationship and friendship that we have across the border should continue without interruption."

King said the mission isn't just about trying to make sure P.E.I. has a place for its potatoes, blueberries, lobsters "and all of our other wonderful products." 

"This is about making sure we have economic activity and the money to make the investments we need to make in housing and health care and education and social assistance. All of these things that we need to continue to invest in. We need to make sure our economy is humming along at a high pace so we can do this,"

Charlotte Campbell, the executive and marketing director with the Lobster Fishers of Prince Edward Island Marketing Board, said the lobster market is important for both countries.

"I think really kind of having those conversations, talking with people about the important work that our different industries do between the two countries is very important and valuable," Campbell said. "And we hope that they bring that message back to their leader as well, you know, to kind of move forward with that positive relationship between Canada and the U.S. moving forward."

The trip is expected to cost about $250,000, King said.

"You never want to spend money … willy-nilly when it comes to the taxpayers of Prince Edward Island. But I think this is a very, very worthwhile and very, very important investment. I think Islanders would be very right to call into question if we weren't doing something like this."

Other provinces have been doing similar initiatives, and King said it's important P.E.I. do its part.