Danielle Smith scores tickets to Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony

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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has scored tickets to Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony in Washington, D.C., next month, a visit that comes as premiers — and the federal government — are engaged in a major diplomatic push to stave off tariffs promised by the incoming U.S. president.

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On Jan. 20, Trump will be inaugurated for the second time as president. Last month, Smith’s office said she would be attending the inauguration, although not the event itself. Rather, she was to attend a party at the Canadian Embassy in Washington.

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Now, thanks to Alberta’s trade office in Washington, Smith has secured tickets to the actual event at the U.S. Capitol building.

“Following the Inauguration, the Premier hopes to meet with energy groups, congresspeople, and various officials,” Smith’s office said in a statement to National Post.

During the presidential campaign, Trump vowed to implement a 25-per-cent tariff on all goods coming into the United States from Canada. It would end more than three decades of free trade across North America, and hamstring the export-heavy Canadian economy. ATB Financial estimates that 52,000 fewer jobs will be created in Alberta and the province could be plunged into a recession if tariffs come into effect and the Canadian government implements retaliatory measures.

In response to the threat of tariffs, the Canadian government has announced a major border security plan, in hopes of appeasing Trump, who has said illegal migrants and drugs are streaming from Canada into the United States. (The actual figures pale in comparison to the migration and drug smuggling coming through the United States’ southern border.)

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Smith and other provincial premiers have also responded. The Alberta government recently announced a special unit of the Alberta Sheriffs that will patrol the southern provincial border with Montana. Smith has also made a diplomatic push with U.S. governors, particularly those in the Midwest, where the majority of Alberta’s oil goes for processing in refineries.

“I made the case that if there’s a 25 per cent tariff, that’ll just increase gasoline prices in Nevada. In Colorado, it’s the same kind of argument — that all throughout this part of the country, the prices are being kept lower because of 4.3 million barrels of Canadian oil that has, as its destination point, refineries in America,” Smith told the Calgary Herald earlier this month. “So, I lead with the conversation about energy.”

Estimates suggest that tariffs could increase U.S. gasoline prices by up to $1 per gallon.

While other politicians have mused about retaliatory tariffs — including Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who suggested withholding energy exports to the U.S. — Smith has firmly rejected retaliation.

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Canada is the largest supplier of oil and gas to the United States and Trump has argued that the trade deficit between the two nations amounts to the U.S. subsidizing Canada. Should tariffs be brought into effect, goods across the board will become more expensive for Americans, which could in turn lead to fewer imports from Canada, reducing revenues here.

Eighty-nine per cent of Alberta’s exports go to the United States, amounting to $156 billion worth of goods — around two-thirds of that in crude oil.

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