Was Premier David Eby ever really serious about running anti-American softwood lumber ads?

Maybe, briefly, back when nobody cared about $100,000 worth of sponsored content promoting B.C. wood products.

But after Ontario’s ads blew up Canada-U.S. trade talks, Eby seemed to realize the true value of his campaign — namely, in not running it at all.

On Monday, Eby all but admitted his tough talk over the past 10 days about the urgent need to educate Americans on B.C.’s softwood sector was just leverage to score a meeting with federal cabinet ministers.

“I knew it was a source of anxiety for many people, including potentially the federal government, given the reaction to the Ontario tariffs,” Eby said of the ads.

“One of my commitments to the federal government was if they came to the table with us, if they sat with us, we'd work with them on communications, strategy, on how to work with them and how to move forward.”

Consequently, “we will........

© BIV