Premier David Eby said comments from the U.S. ambassador calling Canada's trade war response "mean and nasty" show that tariff response efforts are having an impact.
Ambassador Pete Hoekstra told a crowd on Monday, July 21, in Bellevue, Wash., at a Pacific Northwest Economic Region Foundation meeting that Canadian's reluctance to travel to the U.S. and bans on the sale of American alcohol have led President Donald Trump and members of his team to label Canadians as disagreeable.
"There are reasons why the president and some of his team refer to Canada as being mean and nasty to deal with," Hoekstra said, "because of some of those steps."
Eby's staff were at the Washington event representing B.C., and circulated the recording along with the premier's response.
"So, I say to my fellow Canadians: Keep it up. Keep buying Canadian. Keep your vacations Canadian," Eby said in a written statement. "We won鈥檛 take these attacks our jobs, our economy and our sovereignty, lying down. We鈥檒l stand strong together."
Statistics Canada released a in June, showing a steep decline in automobile traffic to the U.S. The report found that return trips to the U.S. declined 38.1 percent in May compared to the same month in 2024.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday in Ontario, Eby added that Canada wants to work in partnership with the Americans, but that the president needs to understand that benefits flow from working in cooperation.
"If you're a mean and nasty Canadian for standing up for our sovereignty and our economy and our jobs, well, I think most Canadians would be proud to be considered mean and nasty," he said.
