Alberta political operative Peter McCaffrey has accused Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi of lying in ongoing claims against Premier Danielle Smith regarding US tariffs.McCaffrey, who heads the Alberta Institute, a libertarian public policy think tank founded in 2018, previously worked as a researcher at the Manning Centre (now Strong and Free Network) and as a consultant in politics and business."As he did for years in Calgary, when he gets desperate, Nenshi resorts to outright lies," McCaffrey wrote on Twitter/X. "Smith didn’t call Trump’s tariffs a big win. She called avoiding them a big win. And 15,000 Albertans didn’t lose their jobs. That’s the worst-case estimate of how many would lose their jobs if the tariffs had happened. That’s why it’s a big win that they didn’t happen.".McCaffrey’s accusation follows a video posted by Nenshi on Twitter/X, stating, "Danielle Smith called Trump’s tariffs ‘a big win.’ Tell that to the 15,000 Albertans who just lost their jobs. While other provinces took action to protect workers, Smith did nothing. Alberta now has the fastest-rising unemployment rate in the country — and the UCP still won’t lift a finger. Hard-working Albertans deserve better."Nenshi may be right on job loss numbers — although blaming Smith is dubious.According to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey for March, released on April 4, Alberta lost approximately 15,000 jobs (seasonally adjusted), representing a 0.6% employment decline. This contributed to the national loss of 33,000 jobs, with Alberta’s unemployment rate rising to 7.1%..In a statement on Twitter/X on April 2, Smith said, "Today was an important win for Canada and Alberta, as it appears the United States has decided to uphold the majority of the free trade agreement (CUSMA) between our two nations. It also appears this will continue to be the case until after the Canadian federal election has concluded and the newly elected Canadian government is able to renegotiate CUSMA with the US administration."The Canada-US trade dispute has evolved since April 2, with issues persisting as Canada prepares for a federal election on April 28. Smith was accused by some of being overly optimistic given her significant diplomacy efforts and the potential for resolution.Smith added on Twitter/X, "This is precisely what I have been advocating for from the US administration for months. It means that the majority of goods sold into the United States from Canada will have no tariffs applied to them, including zero percent tariffs on energy, minerals, agricultural products, uranium, seafood, potash and a host of other Canadian goods. There is still work to be done, of course. Unfortunately, tariffs previously announced by the United States on Canadian automobiles, steel and aluminum have not been removed."