Alberta’s Danielle Smith to meet US officials despite US-Canada trade tensions

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is set to meet US officials next week as tensions continue to rise in the Canada-US trade war.

A spokesperson for Smith said the Alberta premier already had a personal trip to the United States planned but will take time during the visit to hold meetings alongside Alberta's senior US representative, Nathan Cooper.

Smith is expected to meet the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Tourist DevelopmentD, the head of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce and the CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.

The meetings come after Canada-US trade negotiations collapsed last week, leading to renewed tariffs and retaliation between the two countries.

Smith said on Wednesday that the United States had "no excuse for their behaviour" but argued that Canada should continue pursuing diplomacy rather than escalating the dispute.

She said she did not believe Canada could win the trade battle through "brute force" and urged Canadian officials to continue telling their US counterparts that tariffs are damaging.

Smith has also said Canada should promise to help the United States once the tariffs are removed.

Other Prairie politicians are heading south next week, with one Alberta representative and six Saskatchewan politicians attending the annual Midwestern Legislative Conference in Minnesota to discuss trade and other issues.