The prime minister is stepping down and incoming U.S. president Donald Trump is upping the ante on his tariff threats on Canada, saying Tuesday he will impose “substantial” levies on products from this country when he takes office in just 12 days.

For Alberta businesses, this is a worrisome period surrounding the country’s most important trading partnership, arriving at a critical time when much of Ottawa will be increasingly focused on who will become Canada’s next prime minister to replace Justin Trudeau.

“Businesses are preparing today for the very strong likelihood that they will see tariffs. If they are in the most severe version — the 25 per cent across the working board — it’d be economically devastating,” Scott Crockatt of the Business Council of Alberta said Tuesday.

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“This just sort of underscores the reason we need very, very strong representation for Canada to both nurture and negotiate the next chapter in the most important bilateral relationship on Earth, which is Canada and the United States.”

On Tuesday, Trump held a lengthy news conference, reiterating his threat to impose........

© Calgary Herald