I've done several call-in radio shows in western Canada recently, and when the softwood lumber issue comes up, the anger on the part of the people calling in—not just Danielle Smith's show, but also CBC—is real and visceral. People want to cut electricity. People want to cut oil shipping to the United States. People want to stop sending water down to the United States. Yes, people still think the Americans are taking our water. The anger is visceral, and it's understandable.
It's understandable that politicians would react the same way, but I think that sober second thought really shows that this is going to impact not just our relations with the United States but also with Alberta. The ban would not just include Wyoming and Montana, but also Alberta; so thank you very much for a move that would hurt western Canada.
This elicited a strong reaction in the U.S., but you look at our ability to retaliate: thermal coal impacts, as I mentioned, Wyoming and Montana, six electoral college votes. They're very important states in Congress—again, I'm being sarcastic—very important states in the trade negotiations. We're going to anger the Americans for inflicting no damage on them and not changing their minds, but look at what Mexico's done.
Mexico is the United States' largest customer for corn—70% of the corn. On the resolution that the Mexican Senate has on redirecting corn exports from the U.S., if Mexico decides to redirect corn imports from the U.S., that's a large swath of the Midwest, very important states, politically active. It's a signal of the wider damage that can cause.
If you're going to retaliate, you have to do it in a way that's serious. With coal, we're just going to bleep the Americans off for no impact. Mexico, with corn, is scaring the Americans, with impact. That's what you want to see. Unfortunately, we really don't have the same ability as Mexico has.
Mexico can also stop security co-operation with the U.S. If you think there's a crisis on the southern border now, wait until Mexico starts waving folks from Central America through to the northern border, or stops co-operating and banning folks from countries—Pakistan and elsewhere—from entry into Mexico, or stops checking that they have a U.S. visa before they let people in. Mexico has ways to retaliate that we don't because of the difference in our relationship.
We have to be very careful as we think about this. With softwood lumber, our best retaliation with the Americans is the fact that U.S. homeowners are going to be priced out of buying new homes. Every $1,000 that a U.S. home increases in price, prices 153,000 Americans out of the ability to buy a home. It also increases the price of everything in that home. Your box-spring set is made with Canadian softwood, because U.S. southern pine squeaks when you put it into a box set. Everything in that house, not just the house itself, is going to go up. We've seen that impact in Fort McMurray, with our duties on American drywall, and how those impacted the home-building industry. At the end of the day, our integration may be our best defence, not retaliatory measures.