Tuesday May 6, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC
Political news | by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
On the eve of Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney’s meeting with US President Donald Trump, BC Premier Eby had some forthright thoughts and comments during a press conference in Victoria yesterday.
Carney’s meeting with Trump is set for today, May 6. And Eby had some observations and expressed some hopes.
“The president is threatening people who work in industries across British Columbia and across Canada. His stated intent is to beggar our economy so that we become a 51st state,” said Eby today with his characteristic blunt edge.
“We won’t let the president do that. We”ll stand strong for the film industry, the sofwtood lumber industry, for all the indrustries in British Columbia, said Eby.
Eby is one of the 13 premiers across Canada who as the Council of the Federation have, to date, been ‘standing strong’ with federal leadership to push back against the threats of tariffs and against Canada’s sovereignty that President Trump is hurling against this country and our population.
The provinces — and Carney during the election campaign — are seeking to execute inter-provincial trade by dropping barriers and improving the means to ship and transport raw and manufactured goods beyond Canadian borders to countries other than the United States.
Eby to Carney:
“The context of the conversation is important. I’m seeing the President ramp up his 51st state rhetoric again,” said Eby. “For some reason bizarrely refusing to rule out military interventions in Canada. Calling our country’s borders artificial,” said Eby on Monday.
Carney visited Eby in Victoria on April 7 during the election campaign and their meeting was by all accounts friendly and productive.
“And so, first of all – and I know the prime minister is up for this, I want to see him ensure that we’re standing up strong for our country’s sovereignty — we’re not tolerating that kind of talk — but the second piece is – to the extent that the conversation is able to get there — is to underline the mutual benefit that we enjoy as Canadians and Americans with a close partnership.”
“Regardless of the specific industry, I want the prime minister to be strong, stand up for our country. I want him to take no guff from the president. And I want him to be constructive and to underline the shared prosperity that we have enjoyed and that can be expanded, if we work together.”
Softwood lumber:
“I think about our timber industry here, our film industry, the jobs that are dependent on both sides of the border. And the same is true in the auto sector in Ontario,” said Eby in response to a media question.
“I’m very hopeful that the prime minister squarely addresses the softwood lumber threats as well as additional duties that have been imposed on British Columbia companies in terms equal to his advocacy for industries that are in Ontario and Quebec that are affected,” said Eby.
“Because I believe that there is a possibility of a softwood lumber deal. We’ve got $10 billion in a tariff bank account that’s just sitting there. It’s not advancing the interests of Americans or Canadians. Americans paying more for building materials for their homes doesn’t make any sense,” said BC’s premier.
Film industry:
As for the Trump tariff threat to the Canadian film industry, Eby said to the BC film industry on Monday: “Our province will stand with you. We are so proud of the work that you do,” says Eby, saying films produced in BC get “international recognition for exceptional quality”.
“It’s fantastic and it’s why we’ve stepped up to support the industry wt additional supports. I’ts an industry that touches every corner of our province and also drives tourism,” the Premier said yesterday.
“People travel some distance to visit the location of Canadian films and television shows that see worldwide distribution,” said Eby.
“The president’s proposal is incredibly hard to understand. Try to imagine as an American an option for two versions of Netflix — one where you get just a handful of productions, the other where you pay $50 or $100 a month and you get to see what everyone else in the world gets to see,” the premier pontificated.
“To say the implementation would be challenging is an understatement. We don’t watch DVDs anymore,” said Eby.
“But regardless, even if the president does somehow find a way, we’ll stand with our film industry, and we’ll stand with our film industry around the world to make sure that we are protecting the rights of Americans to see what they want to see which includes high quality productions from right here in Canada,” said BC’s premier to the film sector that he clearly treasures.
He advised people in the film industry: “Don’t panic. The president tweets a lot of stuff. The implementation challenges of this are profound and hard to understand exactly how this would work.”
“The industry is strong and growing in British Columbia. We recently learned that “The Last of Us” has signed on for another season here,” said Eby, saying it’s a nine-figure production. Shogun will be shooting another season in Port Moody with a setting to replicate historic Japan. Eby noted that Hallmark movies and larger productions are filmed in BC.
“It’s an important sector for our province and we’re going to stand strong for you,” said Eby to the film sector in response to a media question.
===== RELATED:
BC Premier Eby meets with Prime Minister Carney about shared priorities (April 7, 2025)
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