The effort is one of a number of actions taken by Canada amid rising concerns of a trade war with its neighbour.

Amid threats of tariffs on aluminum, steel, cars, and all goods entering the U.S., Canadian politicians have been on a charm offensive, trying to sway members of the Trump administration. Between the premiers meeting with White House officials,

President Donald Trump's new tariff orders against Canada, Mexico and China all contain clauses suspending a duty-free exemption for low-value shipments below $800 that is widely seen as a loophole that has allowed shipments of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals into the United States.

McKercher said the language used by Trump in his tariff directive “gives the game away.” Essentially, by proposing 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods, except energy which was set at 10 per cent, Trump is revealing the country’s dependency on cheap Canadian energy and a concern about prices rising too high for Americans.