P.E.I. premier considers scrapping multimillion-dollar NHL deal as province fights U.S. tariffs
Responding to tariffs imposed on Canada by U.S. President Donald Trump, P.E.I.'s premier is vowing to take further steps to protect the Island's economy — including the possibility of scrapping the multimillion-dollar NHL deal.
On Saturday, Trump signed an executive order to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods entering the U.S., including a 10 per cent tariff on oil and gas.
King pushed back against the tariffs on Sunday, announcing all American wine, beer and spirits will be pulled from provincial liquor store shelves by Tuesday. There will also be measures put in place to prevent restaurants from ordering any more U.S. alcohol.
In an interview with CBC on Monday, King said the province will be reviewing all its spending linked to the U.S. and may possibly cancel existing contracts — including P.E.I.'s multimillion-dollar National Hockey League deal, which designates the Island as the league's official travel destination.
"The NHL contract is on the table. If I can kill this quickly and not put those dollars into the U.S. market, I will do that," King told CBC's Island Morning.
The threat of U.S. tariffs is now a reality. What's next for P.E.I. and its biggest trading partner?
The contract shows the province will pay between $7.5 million and $8.4 million in direct costs to the NHL over the course of the three years.
King added the province purchases U.S. goods, such as road paint, but the government will need to secure alternative Canadian suppliers before cutting off imports to avoid disrupting essential services.
"I will give credit to my predecessors, we have done a very good job as Prince Edward Island to buy local and buy Canadian, so there isn't a whole lot of direct contracts with the United States that