Biden or Trump? During Washington visit, Alberta premier says, 'There's challenges with both'

If the premier of Alberta has a preference in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, she's not sharing it publicly.

At a news conference during a trip to Washington, D.C., Danielle Smith pointed to different difficulties in dealing with either a Democrat or a Republican.

When asked whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump would be better for her province, she replied: «I think there's challenges with both.»

Both candidates have protectionist policies, Smith said.

Her biggest gripe with Biden, the current president, was his decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta on his first day in office.

«We were gravely disappointed,» Smith told reporters on Thursday at the Canadian Embassy, during her first trip to the U.S. capital as premier.

Meanwhile, former president Trump is threatening to impose a global tariff of 10 per cent on products worldwide. The details of the policy remain fuzzy, and one Trump ally told Politico that he sees this as a negotiating tactic as a way for Trump to get countries to do things he wants.

Smith is already publicly pushing for a Canadian carve-out. In fact, she's urging for such a carve-out for all North American trading partners.

«We'd be seeking an exemption [to such a tariff],» she said. «Regardless of whether it's [a] Democrat or Republican [president], they need to realize we have a special relationship. Canada and the United States — and I would include Mexico… So we'd be seeking an exemption to any kind of rules that would prohibit or limit cross-border trade.»

In any case, it's far from certain Trump would impose such a tariff on Alberta's most lucrative export, oil and gas; it would fly in the face of his campaign message about lowering energy prices.

Keystone XL 2.0? Not quite

Smith was