Danielle Smith '1,000 per cent' in favour of ousting Mexico from trilateral trade deal with U.S. and Canada
CTV
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she agrees it could be time to cut Mexico out of the trilateral free trade agreement with Canada and the United States.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she agrees it could be time to cut Mexico out of the trilateral free trade agreement with Canada and the United States.
"Mexico has gone in a different direction, and it's pretty clear that the Americans have indicated that they want to have a fair trade relationship," Smith told CTV's Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, in an interview airing Sunday. "Mexico is not in a position to be able to offer that, especially with the investment that they have from China."
"We've got to put Canada first," she added.
The trilateral deal was first inked in 1994, at the time called NAFTA, before being renegotiated during former president and now-president-elect Donald Trump's first term.
Trump in this last election campaign vowed to reopen the agreement when it comes up for review in 2026.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, meanwhile, floated the idea earlier this week of ousting Mexico from the trilateral deal in favour of a bilateral one between just Canada and the U.S., a proposal of which Smith said she is "a thousand per cent" in support.
The majority of what Alberta sends to the U.S. is energy exports. According to Smith, Alberta has a $188-billion trade relationship with the United States, compared to the $2.9-billion trade relationship with Mexico.
