The prime minister, who is in Calgary, said he was aware of the strike’s impact on prairie producers.

About 7,400 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada have been on strike in about 30 ports in British Columbia since Saturday.

There is currently no sign of the impasse being resolved as talks collapsed on Monday.

The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association is urging the union to resume negotiations through “voluntary mediation and arbitration” while the union accuses the employers of trying to get the government to do their “dirty work”.

Trudeau said the best deals are made around the negotiating table and he knows “there is a solution.”

“But I also know that the pressure is increasing every day and people are very worried about what might happen next week and so are we,” Trudeau said.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday the port strike is causing “extreme hardship” for producers and exporters in her province.

She mentioned that she had written to Mr Trudeau asking him to recall Parliament to end the strike.

Alberta Secretary of Transportation Devin Dreeshen previously urged the federal government to consider a return-to-workplace bill.

Opposition members of the British Columbia Legislature have joined business groups and politicians in calling for action to end the strike.

A statement released on Friday by BC United’s Greg Kyllo and Ben Stewart said NDP Premier David Eby must urge the federal government to intervene in the labor dispute.

“While other provincial prime ministers have expressed their concerns, Prime Minister David Eby and NDP Labor Secretary Harry Bains have remained silent as the impact of the strike continued to escalate,” Mr Kyllo said in the press release.

The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association, which represents port officials, issued a statement Thursday saying it had become aware of layoffs in related industries over industrial action and may have caused 4.6 billion in cargo disruptions from the strike.

The BC Forest Industries Council has also called for federal intervention if stevedores and port employers fail to find a quick solution.

The organization’s chief economist, Kurt Niquidet, said some timber companies are considering rail or trucking to ship their timber to the United States, but that’s not an option for companies that need access to Asian markets.

Dockers, who are members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada, voted overwhelmingly to go on strike over better wages and anti-outsourcing and anti-automation regulations, but negotiations stalled Monday over job interview issues.

The union leader said at a solidarity rally on Thursday that the BC Maritime Employers Association had walked out on three occasions.

Rob Ashton told the crowd that instead of treating workers with respect through negotiations, employers were waiting for the federal government to do their “dirty work”.

Secretary of Labor Seamus O’Regan is urging both sides to use mediators and resume talks.