Premier Andrew Furey says while ongoing tension with the United States wasn’t a factor in his decision to leave politics, it did influence the timing of his decision.

Furey shocked the province yesterday by announcing his intention to drop out of the political sphere once a new leader is chosen.

The threat of tariffs from the United States has cast a shadow of economic uncertainty over the entire country in recent months.

Furey joined a delegation of Canadian premiers in Washington earlier this month to impress on U.S. decision-makers the impact tariffs would have on Americans and Canadians alike. Despite that effort, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that 25 per cent tariffs are coming next week.

“The guy’s cracked.”

He told reporters yesterday that once it became clear that a resolution to the tariff threat wasn’t in the offing, it freed him and his family to decide that now is the time.

Furey says if he knew everything would be over on March 1st or April 4th, it would have influenced their timelines, but “the guy’s cracked.” Furey characterizes US President Donald Trump as “erratic” and “confusing,” which is why the Canadian response should be “calm, cool, measured, balanced, but responsive standing up to this bully, an erratic bully.”

Meanwhile, Furey says he will not be throwing his support behind any one candidate who puts their name in the leadership race.

He believes it is “problematic” for an outgoing leader to put their support behind another person coming in.