VANCOUVER, BC — Standing at Vancouver International Airport on Saturday morning, June 27, 2026, British Columbia Premier David Eby didn't mince words before boarding his flight. U.S. tariffs are "really hurting" the province's forestry sector, he told reporters. A lot of B.C. jobs depend on China. And the "really big fish" he's aiming to land? A $28 billion LNG expansion deal that could reshape the province's economic future.
Eby's first-ever trade mission to China marks a dramatic acceleration of Canada's pivot away from American economic dominance — a shift that seemed unthinkable just two years ago, but now feels like survival instinct.
Let's not sugarcoat it: Canada has been dangerously reliant on one customer for too long. Roughly 75% of Canadian exports go to the United States. Among G7 nations, no economy is this tethered to a single trading partner. When Washington sneezes, Ottawa catches pneumonia — and when Washington imposes tariffs, entire Canadian industries bleed.
This wasn't always seen as a problem. For decades, the USMCA (and NAFTA before it) gave Canadian businesses frictionless access to the world's largest consumer market. But the Trump era ripped up that playbook. Tariffs on Canadian lumber, steel, aluminum, and more have battered B.C.'s resource-heavy economy, with forestry — a sector employing tens of thousands — taking some of the hardest hits.
"We're expanding relationships beyond the United States with the goal of doubling international trade over the coming decade," Eby said at YVR. That's not rhetoric. It's a survival strategy.
Eby's trip doesn't happen in a vacuum. Prime Minister Mark Carney paved the runway with his historic January 2026 visit to Beijing — the first by a Canadian prime minister in eight years.
That trip produced real breakthroughs. Carney scrapped the 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles — a policy the Trudeau government had adopted in 2024 in lockstep with Washington. In its place, Canada adopted a quota system allowing 49,000 Chinese EVs at the standard 6.1% most-favored-nation rate, rising to 70,000 within five years. China reciprocated by slashing tariffs on Canadian canola to roughly 15% and suspending duties on canola meal, lobster, crab, and peas.
Carney was refreshingly blunt at his Beijing press conference, noting that while Canada's relationship with the U.S. remains broader, "in recent months, the relationship with China has been more predictable — and you can see the results."
The message was unmistakable: when Washington weaponizes trade, Beijing becomes a more reliable partner.
So what is a provincial premier doing on a China trade mission normally handled by federal officials? The answer is in B.C.'s economic makeup.
First, forestry. U.S. softwood lumber duties have squeezed B.C. mills for years. Accessing Chinese demand for construction-grade lumber offers a lifeline the Americans won't provide.
Second, seafood. Chinese retaliatory tariffs have hit B.C.'s seafood sector — crabs, lobster, and other premium exports. Eby wants them gone.
Third — the "really big fish" — LNG Canada Phase 2. The Kitimat LNG terminal, a consortium involving Shell, PetroChina, Mitsubishi, and KOGAS, is nearing a final investment decision (FID) expected in September 2026. Phase 2 would double the facility's capacity and generate an estimated $28 billion in provincial revenue to fund public services. Eby plans to meet directly with PetroChina to address any final concerns before that decision.
"Meeting with them, identifying any final concerns as they reach final investment decision is another example of concrete things we're seeking to achieve here," Eby said.
He'll be joined by Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth, who will continue the mission to Guangzhou after Eby cuts his trip short — at the request of the federal government — for final negotiations on an MOU between B.C. and Ottawa on major infrastructure projects, expected in early July.
This isn't a casual trade junket. Eby confirmed he received briefings from both the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) before departing. "Our team is fully aware of how to minimize risk and to maximize opportunities while visiting," he said, adding grimly: "That is unfortunately something that we increasingly need to do in this current global environment."
The government also withheld Eby's full itinerary — an unusual move — to avoid tipping off competitors in other provinces and countries. The new geopolitics of trade means every deal is contested, every advantage fought over.
Eby's mission is the provincial echo of a national shift. Since Carney's January breakthrough, the Canada-China relationship has moved at remarkable speed:
This is not just trade diversification. This is structural decoupling from American financial infrastructure.
For British Columbia, the stakes are enormous. The LNG deal alone represents transformative revenue. Forestry and seafood relief means saved jobs in communities from Prince George to Prince Rupert. And the symbolic weight — a provincial premier treating Beijing as an essential economic partner — sends a message Ottawa alone couldn't deliver.
The original Chinese headline captured the mood perfectly: "加拿大省长也要访华：我们太依赖美国，结果被关税坑惨了" — "Another Canadian leader heading to China: We relied too much on America, and tariffs have wrecked us."
Is this risky? Of course. Eby acknowledged the "excitement and caution" of the mission. China is not an easy partner, and geopolitical tensions won't disappear overnight. But the risk calculus has fundamentally changed. When the United States threatens to make Canada its "51st state" while imposing punitive tariffs, the risk of doing nothing looks far worse.
As Eby's plane touched down in China, one thing was clear: Canada isn't waiting for Washington to come to its senses. It's building Plan B — and bringing its "really big fish" along for the ride.
What do you think about Canada's pivot toward China? Is trade diversification long overdue, or is B.C. trading one dependency for another? Share your thoughts in the comments.