Q&A: Why Alberta Premier Danielle Smith agrees with Trump about border issues in trade spat [Video]

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s 2024 was a year of following through on her promises — from health-care reforms to support for the oil and gas industry — even as her opponents fought her ideas. 

In a year-end interview at the legislature in early December, Smith reflected on a few pressing issues.

The Alberta government’s next steps, she said, will be revealed in the provincial budget, set to be tabled on Feb. 27.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

International relations

After U.S. president-elect Donald Trump threatened a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods, you supported his concern that the Canada- U.S. border is too porous to drugs and migrants. Can you elaborate on your position?

The issue we face in Western Canada is clearly the drug overdose problem, and it’s gotten even more acute post-COVID-19. Product is coming in from British Columbia and then finding its way down into the United States through Alberta, or precursors are …