Premier Ranj Pillai has directed the Yukon government to prepare for various scenarios and a range of outcomes over the next month since U.S. President Donald Trump first threatened tariffs against Canada, according to Yukon government cabinet communications.
Pillai will be joining premiers from across Canada as part of a joint mission of the Council of the Federation (COF) to meet with key members of the new U.S. administration, Congress and business leaders in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 12.
An advisory via the Yukon government to newsrooms about the trip states the purpose is to strengthen Canada-U.S. relations and work together towards solutions on shared matters of importance.
A Jan. 10 press release from COF lists shared priorities including jobs and the economy, energy, critical mineral supply chains, border security and immigration. As noted in the release, the United States sells more goods and services to Canada than China, Japan and Germany altogether — it is an economic partnership worth more than a trillion dollars a year with millions of jobs on both sides of the border contributing to it.
As chair of COF and premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, who is currently in the midst of provincial elections, has been one of the most outspoken among premiers who have condemned the tariffs and threatened retaliations if the tariffs go ahead. Ford has made rounds in U.S. and Canadian media on the matter.
For the Yukon, those retaliatory measures potentially include halting U.S. liquor sales, excluding U.S. businesses from bidding on Yukon government contracts and implementing Alaska Highway tolls.
The News is told that Pillai does not have meetings on the topic of hunting outfitters scheduled. Discussions are likely to focus on emerging national issues and how tariffs would potentially impact Canadians as well as “our American neighbours,” per Yukon government cabinet communications.
In late 2024, Pillai talked Canada-U.S. trade and tariffs with Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr. They didn't discuss retaliatory measures, per Pillai, who said he originally met Trump Jr. at an outdoor and hunting conference in Nevada in January 2024, while the premier was away on personal time. Trump Jr. hunts in the Yukon and partially owns a U.S. company that owns a hunting outfit operating north of Faro.
Cabinet comms said the Yukon premier spoke with his Alaskan counterpart, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, on Feb. 7. Pillai expressed his thoughts on the Bering Air flight situation on Feb. 6, which his office later learned resulted in the loss of all 10 people onboard. The two touched base on tariffs and the Yukon-Alaska relationship ahead of the premier’s trip down south of the Canada-U.S. border.
— With files from Talar Stockton
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
