When the history of the 2017 B.C. election is written, Monday, April 24, could go down as a pivotal moment in it.

It was on this day that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump announced duties of up to 24 per cent on Canadian softwood lumber exports – dealing a devastating blow to a forest industry already on its knees in many parts of the country. In B.C., where Christy Clark is in the midst of a tough, close election battle, the Liberal leader and her strategists smelled an opportunity amid the carnage the Trump measures would cause.

Two days later, Ms. Clark announced she was requesting the federal government ban the export of U.S. thermal coal through ports on the West Coast. She went further: if Ottawa refused, the province would do it alone, applying a ruinous, $70-a-tonne carbon levy on thermal coal being shipped through B.C. ports.

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From that moment on, Ms. Clark's central enemy on the campaign trail became Donald Trump. In an astonishing mid-campaign pivot, she began to frame the ballot-box question around leadership: Who is the best to lead the fight against the rising tide of protectionism south of the border? At her rallies, the Liberal leader started spending half of her time warning about the industries the Americans could target next. "Apples, cherries, peaches, our tech sector … you name it." "Who has the calm, even temperament needed to stand up to Donald Trump and protect jobs?"

Correct answer: "Christy! Christy! Christy!"

It's a stump pitch that has found a receptive audience, especially in rural parts of the province.

The consequences of Ms. Clark's actions reverberate far beyond the B.C. border, however, and raise several troubling questions.

As we now know, the carbon levy the Liberals are planning to slap on U.S. thermal coal would also apply to product from Alberta, rendering it uneconomic. The early estimate by some in the coal industry there suggests that it would cost $300-million in revenue and mean 2,000 lost jobs, which is a lot in a province already devastated by the crash in oil prices. You can imagine the outrage this proposal would generate if it was being made by an NDP government in B.C., and Conservatives were in power in Alberta. War would be declared.

Even so, there will be enormous pressure on NDP Premier Rachel Notley to look for some retaliatory measures of her own, like slapping a tax on B.C. products passing through Alberta to destinations east, such as natural gas. There are also legitimate questions emanating from Ms. Notley's office regarding the legality of such a move by B.C. On the surface, it would seem to strain the terms and conditions of both the Constitution, and the New West Partnership. (B.C. insists it is on solid legal ground).

Beyond all that, there are many wondering if Ottawa is going to sit back and allow the provinces to start precipitating unilateral trade actions against the U.S. However, a senior source in the B.C. government says Canadians should be on the lookout for other provinces doing exactly the same thing in the coming weeks. And the suggestion is, this is part of an overarching strategy, endorsed by the Prime Ministers' Office, designed to send the U.S. administration the message: We have a complicated system of government here. We can't control what our provinces do. That is why it's so important for our two national governments to work together, not against one another.

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Many international trade experts would likely contend this is an unusually risky and foolhardy approach to take. Also, retaliatory measures are usually negotiable. If your side backs off on this, we will rescind whatever vengeful action we introduced to get a better deal. However, in this case, B.C. has said the carbon levy on U.S. thermal coal is staying, whatever happens at the softwood lumber negotiating table.

In that case, where is the incentive for the Americans to back down and give up anything if they know B.C. is killing their thermal coal business from Idaho and Wyoming regardless? It seems like a flawed strategy.

For her part, Ms. Clark is not troubling herself with any of these questions now. She has an election to win and as she's proven before, she knows a winning message when she sees one. In less than a week, we'll find out if Donald Trump helped Christy Clark become the first woman in Canadian history to be re-elected as premier.