Trudeau will meet with the prime minister as Trump threatens heavy tariffs on Canadian goods
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has agreed to meet with his provincial and territorial counterparts after Donald Trump threatened to impose steep tariffs on Canadian goods.
The US president-elect said Monday night on his first day back in the White House, he will impose a 25 percent tariff on all goods from Canada and Mexico.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning, Trudeau said he plans to meet with Canadian prime ministers “this week” to discuss how to deal with Canada’s relationship with the US.
“This is a relationship that we know takes a certain amount of work, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Trudeau said before entering a meeting with his cabinet.
“One of the most important things is that we all work together on this. The Team Canada approach is the one that works.”
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office later said the virtual meeting would be held on Wednesday evening.
The premiers wrote to Trudeau on Monday before the latest tax threat, asking for an emergency meeting to discuss Ottawa’s handling of the incoming administration.
“As we look to welcome the incoming US administration, it is important that we act now to work together and seize this opportunity to grow and strengthen our historic relationship with the US,” the prime minister’s letter reads.
After US president-elect Donald Trump threatened to slap a 25 percent tariff on all goods from Canada and Mexico, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had a phone call with Trump in which he laid out the ‘truths’ about Canada’s relationship with the US. Trudeau also said he reached out to Ontario Premier Doug Ford and that there will be a first ministerial meeting this week.
Trump said the 25 percent tariff is because of his concerns about the Canada-Mexico border.
“This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as drugs, especially Fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” Trump wrote on his social network Truth Social.
“Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily resolve this long-simmering problem. So we want them to exercise this power, and until they do, it’s time for them to pay a very heavy price!”
Trudeau spoke with Trump on the phone Monday evening after the president-elect made his tax pledge. The prime minister said on Tuesday morning that the two had a “good call.”
“Obviously we talked about … how strong and effective communication between our two countries goes back and forth, we talked about some of the challenges that we can work on together,” Trudeau told reporters.
The two leaders spoke for about 10 minutes on Monday evening and mainly discussed trade and border security, according to a government source familiar with the matter by phone. Trudeau pointed out that the number of immigrants from Canada to the US is a small fraction of those who cross from Mexico, the source said.
Trudeau also spoke with Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Quebec Premier François Legault on Monday evening.
Ford said Tuesday morning that he was “shocked” by Trump’s announcement and that it was “insulting” for him to compare Canada to Mexico.
“We are very close to the American people,” Ford told reporters during a press conference.
“You ask any American … if they feel Canada is dangerous. The answer is no. Can we do a better job? Do we need to do a better job at our borders? One thousand one percent.”
In his post on the Truth Social platform, US president-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on all goods from Canada and Mexico until both countries stop what he calls an ‘attack’ on undocumented immigrants and drugs crossing the US. border.
The Ontario premier said he wants to hear from Trudeau to make sure he has “a strong plan to protect and secure our borders and make sure we deal with the threat from the US”.
Ford said he expects Canada to retaliate at its expense if Trump follows through on his promise.
Forecasters have been trying to predict how a second Trump term will affect the Canadian economy. Various estimates have pegged the potential damage to Canada at anywhere from less than half a point of GDP to a devastating five percent.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the federal government has been preparing for a Trump presidency for a long time.
“We have to take it [the tariff threat] seriously, no doubt. On the other hand, I can say that the preparations we have made will be useful in our discussions,” he told reporters on Tuesday morning.
“Trump is not president for two months, so we still have a few weeks to talk.”
Canadian Labor Congress president Bea Bruske says she is deeply concerned about the proposed US administration’s 25 percent tariffs, asking, ‘Do any of us know what’s going on? [Donald Trump’s] mind?’ Bruske is urging Justin Trudeau and the prime minister to keep the impact on workers front and center when they meet this week to discuss a response.
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