U.S. conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro has voiced his opposition to tariffs on Canadian goods after meeting Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Shapiro’s support for Canada drew praise from Smith as she continues her efforts to protect Alberta’s economy in the ongoing U.S.-Canada trade war.
“I am pleased to see that the DAY AFTER I spent the evening speaking with @benshapiro about the importance of maintaining a tariff-free relationship between Canada and the U.S., he posted this podcast for millions of his Republican and influential viewers to see,” Smith posted to X.
Despite not agreeing on everything, she said common ground was found: the tariff war is bad for the United States and Canada.
Shapiro is the founder of the Daily Wire, which the premier has cited as having a reach of 220 million monthly followers. He has 25 million followers on his own social media platforms. Journalist David Staples said this is the second-largest audience of anyone in Trump’s base.
Americans are giving U.S. President Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt, said Shapiro, as he’s following through on many of his campaign promises. However, he noted that if the economy faltered, so too would the rest of his agenda.
Despite Americans disliking the tariffs, Shapiro said the rest of Trump’s agenda is highly popular.
The U.S. commentator shared a clip from CNN, showcasing that while 68 per cent of Americans think Trump is prioritizing tariffs, only 30 per cent think he should be.
“Markets don’t lie. Every time Trump announces new tariffs, the stock market plummets. Investors know tariffs are bad for business,” said Shapiro in a Facebook post.
Before Smith met with Shapiro in Florida to discuss the tariffs, he had previously been outspoken against imposing tariffs on Canada, an ally, instead of China, a geopolitical enemy.
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi complained about Smith meeting with Shapiro, labelling him as an “extremist.”
Smith subsequently defended her government’s efforts to protect Alberta and Canada from U.S. tariff threats.
During her defence, she grouped Nenshi and Liberal Party of Canada Leader Mark Carney, saying they were trying to divide Canadians and too focused on virtue signalling instead of diplomacy.
“Their endgame is quite obvious. Frighten and divide Canadians. Try and make Canadians forget the utter incompetence of Liberal and NDP policies inflicted upon this country over the last ten years. Associate Conservatives with President Trump,” said Smith.
Canada faces another looming tariff threat scheduled for April 2.
Smith said that Carney’s team wants her to abandon her post and her province, cowering to legacy media pundits and politicians who prefer virtue signalling to diplomacy.
Despite the criticism, Smith said she and Alberta would not be silent.
“We will not be pushed around and called traitors for merely having the courage to actually do something about our nation’s and province’s predicament other than merely indulging in self-righteous tantrums,” said Smith. “And I, for one, will never be silenced by the party in Ottawa that has sold out our beloved province for the last 10 years with the help of their NDP collaborators.”
“And until this danger to Alberta and our economy is passed, they’re going to have to roll me off in a stretcher before I stop fighting for this province and our people,” added Smith.