OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for a united front ahead of an emergency meeting with the country's premiers on Wednesday, where they will grapple with the threat of steep new U.S. tariffs.
"One of the really important things is that we be all pulling together on this," Trudeau said on his way into the weekly cabinet meeting Tuesday morning. "The Team Canada approach is what works."
On Monday night, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose a 25 per cent import tariff on goods coming from Canada and Mexico the day he takes office.
"On Jan. 20, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25 per cent tariff on all products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The post, which came just as Canadian cabinet ministers were holding a meeting of the restored Canada-U.S. relations committee in Ottawa, promises to keep the tariffs in place until Canada and Mexico stop illegal border crossings and prevent drugs like fentanyl from entering the U.S.
Trudeau later had a 10-minute call with Trump, which the prime minister described as positive.
"We obviously talked about laying out the facts, talking about how the intense and effective connections between our two countries flow back and forth. We talked about some of the challenges that we can work on together," Trudeau said.
"It was a good call. This is something we can do, laying out the facts in constructive ways. This is a relationship we know takes a certain amount of working on and that's what we'll do."
Before Trump's post on Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who chairs the Council of the Federation, had asked for an urgent meeting between the premiers and Trudeau to prepare for the new administration.
That request took on new urgency following Trump's post.
Trudeau and all the premiers will huddle together in a virtual meeting on Wednesday at 5 p.m., according to the Prime Minister's Office.
Quebec Premier François Legault said Tuesday Trump's threat should be taken "very seriously" since the tariffs would result in tens of thousands of job losses in Quebec and Canada. But he also warned Canada should do everything it can to avoid a trade war.
Ford called the threats serious and unfounded, but said if Trump follows through, Canada would have no choice but to retaliate.
"I found his comments unfair. I found them insulting. It's like a family member stabbing you right in the heart," he said at a press conference in Toronto.
"To compare us to Mexico is the most insulting thing I've ever heard from our friends and closest allies."
Ford said Trudeau needs to do better on border security, and give more resources to the Canada Border Services Agency to secure the borders and address the flow of drugs.
"One ounce of any illegal drug is one ounce too many going back and forth across the border," he said.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the government is considering sending drones, helicopters and additional staff to the border.
U.S. border statistics suggest illegal drug seizures and encounters with people who are not admissible to the United States at the Canadian border pale in comparison to those at the Mexico border, though Miller said Canada still takes the problem seriously.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said on social media such tariffs would be "harmful to our Saskatchewan export-based economy" and that his government is talking with the incoming administration, the federal government and premiers to "ensure this does not happen." He also said Canadians "can all benefit from additional border security."
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called for an emergency debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday and for Trudeau to take "Canada-first" measures to bolster the economy.
He pitched familiar Conservative planks, such as ending the carbon tax, cancelling an energy-sector emissions cap, working to "rebuild" the military and "secure our borders" so Canada can stand up "against unfair tariffs."
In question period, both the Conservative and NDP leaders accused Trudeau of not having a plan to deal with Trump’s tariffs.
"Despite the fact the prime minister has known for years that Trump was threatening these tariffs and for three weeks that president Trump had won the election, the only plan he has is a Zoom call," Poilievre charged.
Trudeau responded that his government would take a "responsible, methodical approach" and accused his opponent of turning to "slogans and fear."
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called on Trudeau to be more aggressive. "The only thing a bully responds to is strength," he said. "Where is our plan to fight back?"
Trudeau said he's taking the issue seriously and will defend Canadian jobs without "freaking out the way the leader of the NDP seems to be."
The Trudeau government has been preparing for the possibility of another Trump presidency for nearly a year, reigniting their previous effort.
Cabinet ministers and provincial officials have been dispatched south of the border to meet with people around Trump who could influence U.S. policy. That included governors, business leaders, unions and members of Congress.
The week Trump was re-elected, Trudeau restored the Canada-U.S. relations cabinet committee that had been dormant since Joe Biden won the 2020 election.
While Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum raised the prospect of retaliatory tariffs Tuesday, the Trudeau government did not float any such notion.
But Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland briefly hearkened back to the last time her government tangoed with Trump on trade during his first term and won that tariff war through a "smart, targeted response."
Freeland stressed this week that the cross-border trade between the two countries is significant, and had noted on Monday 60 per cent of U.S. crude oil imports came from Canada last year.
A 25 per cent tariff on those imports is expected to immediately jack up gas prices for American consumers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 26, 2024.
Kyle Duggan, Nick Murray and David Baxter, The Canadian Press
