Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Red Deer last week wasn’t specifically intended to reassure Albertans about potential trade war tactics.

What’s more, Carney still hasn’t ruled out retaliation as we await Aug. 19 and the start of threatened new American tariffs on Canadian goods.

Still, Albertans should be relieved that the idea of using oil exports to the United States as a point of leverage in retaliation seems to be off the table — at least for now. Whatever satisfaction might be gained from the perception that we’re really sticking it to a belligerent and adversarial American president, the self-inflicted damage from such a move makes it a most unwise response.

Much like when U.S. President Donald Trump first imposed new tariffs on Canadian goods more than a year-and-a-half ago, there have been calls for a strong and meaningful response from our government. Canada’s first ministers met a few weeks ago, directly on the heels of the announcement of the latest potential Trump tariffs.

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