Surrey MP says Canada ‘not dependent’ on U.S. moving forward

Surrey MP says Canada ‘not dependent’ on U.S. moving forward

Published 11:30 am Thursday, July 23, 2026

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke says she aims to stay the course in nurturing relationships with her Washington state counterparts in light of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to slap a new 50 per cent tariff on Canadian products effective August 19.

“It’s a concern but I will tell you Surrey is doing everything we can to contribute to the GDP, it’s very important to us,” Locke said, noting Surrey has the largest border crossing in Western Canada.

“We also have the largest trucking industry in all of British Columbia so it’s really crucial we keep those jobs here, we keep rolling and we keep promoting Surrey businesses so we will continue to do that and be very aggressive,” she told the Now-Leader.

“I keep our relationships with Blaine and Bellingham and Burlington and Seattle – it’s my job to keep that relationship and healthy. What Mr. Trump does is Mr. Carney’s responsibility and it’s pretty hard when you hear the president say the things he says.

“Does it make us upset and angry? Absolutely, but our responsibility is to keep those relationships alive in the Pacific Northwest because that’s where we do the majority of our business.”

For his part, Surrey-Newton MP Sukh Dhaliwal said Canada is “not dependent on the U.S moving forward” and will continue to “self-sustain.”

The Surrey & White Rock Board of Trade noted the new tariffs, at least at this time of writing, won’t apply to steel, aluminum, automobiles, potash, energy, critical minerals and fish.

In a press release issued on July 21 the board noted Trump’s latest tariff threat comes five months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled his “emergency” tariffs were unlawful.

Noting the stakes for local businesses are “particularly high,” the board in its press release encourages those doing trade with the U.S. to review their supply chains and seek opportunities to “diversify export markets beyond a reliance on any single trading partner.”