The annual Distinguished Canadian Address at SUNY Plattsburgh has brought prominent leaders to the college to talk about the relations between the two countries. On Monday, the college’s Center for the Study of Canada hosted Senator Martine Hebert, a former Delegate General for Quebec in Chicago and New York. Appointed as a senator in 2025, Hebert tells North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley the relationship between Canada and the U.S. has completely changed over the past year.
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
Editor's note: This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
Hebert: Canada and the U.S. have shared free trade partnership for many decades now and this is not the case anymore. Even though we still have an agreement with the United States, but the current administration's policies on trade and on tariffs has changed profoundly the relationship that we're having with the United States. This is going to lead to permanent changes because our businesses have built supply chains and the way of building things together for decades, and now because of the tariff policy and because of the also the uncertainty that goes around it, businesses have to rethink the way they are doing things. So we are not in the same situation that we used to be because of that and, as I said, this is a permanent change.
Bradley: As a senator, do you have any role in how Canada responds to the tariffs or is that strictly with the executive?
Hebert: That's with the executive. At the Senate, we are a legislative institution. The biggest difference, I would say, between the Canadian Senate and the American Senate is that Canadian senators we are appointed. We are not elected. The other difference is that we are nonpartisan.
Bradley: Martine Hebert, the tariff controversy has led to Canada diversifying its trade and trade possibilities. What are the implications for cross-border trade especially between New York State, Northern New York, and Vermont?
Hebert: I think that all of these states, including New York and Vermont and the whole United States, will always remain Canada's number one economic partner for many reasons because of the decades of collaboration that we've been developing, which is not going to go away just like that. Second of all, there's a geographic reality between Canada and the States. We share the same border. It's easy for our businesses to do business together. You know, that's a reality that will remain. But will it be as intensive as it was before? No, because Canada has entered into a diversification strategy which is already paying off.
Bradley: With the tariffs being imposed on Canada by President Trump, some have described it as a negotiation tactic as the U.S.-Canada-Mexico agreement comes up for renewal. What does Canada believe must be in or be changed in that agreement?
Hebert: We are not in a renewal process of this agreement. We are under a revision process, which means that we are looking at some elements into that agreement that are, you know, not functioning well and trying to improve things and make things work a little bit better. As you know, Canada stepped out of the negotiations. By the way, I'm not talking in the name of the government. I'm an independent senator, so it's my own personal vision. But what we heard is that Canada stepped out because some of the elements that were brought up on the table by the American counterparts were not acceptable for Canada. For example, there were some things about Canada's sovereignty or Canada's possibility to sign agreements with other countries. Topics like that were a too heavy price to pay for Canada to be able to stay at the table. This being said, sooner or later we are going to get back to the negotiation table.
Bradley: How is the war in Iran affecting Canada?
Hebert: Well, of course, gas prices have been up everywhere, so the Canadian government has taken some actions like lowering the taxes on gas and oil so that makes it more affordable for the consumers. But it's not only the gas prices that led to increased prices in in the United States. What's pushing inflation up is the tariffs imposed on Canada. They want people to think that the tariffs imposed on Canada are paid by Canadians or Canadian companies, but it's not the case. The tariffs that the American government is imposing on Canada is paid by the businesses in the U.S. who are buying those Canadian products and so they are passing it to the consumers. So this also is a huge chunk of the pressure on inflation that the American economy is under.
Bradley: As we speak, Alberta citizens are voting on a referendum whether Alberta should stay in Canada or not. Quebec separation has also resurged recently. What's driving these current separatist movements?
Hebert: Well, many, many things. I would say I think that part of what the separatist movement has been saying in Alberta is that Alberta has resources and is paying for the other provinces and doesn't get anything back. I think that there's also, how, how, how would I put this? I think it would make some people happy abroad because if you divide Canada then you weaken Canada. But Quebecers have elected yes a sovereigntist government, but it's a minority government. Especially at this moment we have to be united. I mean, we are going through one of the biggest crises that we've seen in in the past decades and it's not the time for us to talk about division.
Bradley: Senator Hebert, you are also an economist. What would it mean for one or both provinces to secede?
Hebert: I think that there are many legal considerations also. And we heard in Quebec, ‘Oh, we're going to have our own money.’ Come on, you know, having our own money. I don't know how much it's going to be worth. But I don't think that it would be sustainable and that it is realistic.
Bradley: As you work in the Canadian Senate, what are some of the key issues that you see coming up in the near future?
Hebert: Well, of course, right now we are studying a major bill, which is called Bill C-39, which is a bill that the Canadian government has introduced to try to put projects and big projects in every region of Canada on a fast track. This is aimed also as bringing more effectiveness into the system and on the way we look at things and to be able to have a better response to what we are going through right now, and a more effective response. And it's also to help us attract more investments. We have to bring more certainty. We have to bring more cohesion into the decision-making process and what we are doing. And before that, the sentiment was not as urgent as it is right now to do so. I'm also a member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, so we are looking a lot, of course, at what's going on in the United States. We are bringing in witnesses, experts who are talking to us and even ministers who are responsible for the negotiations to try to keep us updated on the situation and what's going on, because the whole Canadian economy is depending on our foreign policies, including with the United States and the rest of the world. So these are the questions that we are looking at right now at the Senate.
Editor's note: Alberta voters rejected, 76% to 24%, Monday’s referendum to formally consider provincial separation.
