Canada's Trudeau Urges Unity on US Tariff Threat, Some Provinces Nervous
- Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, on Tuesday, November 26, said Canada must stay united against a threat by Donald Trump to impose tariffs. Two major provinces quickly called on him to address the U.S. President-elect's concerns.
- Trudeau, due to meet the premiers of the 10 provinces to discuss U.S. relations, often notes his Liberal government has four years' experience dealing with the first Trump administration.
- Notably, Trump affirmed on Monday that he would impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico until they clamped down on drugs, particularly fentanyl, and migrants crossing the border. Such a tariff would badly hit the economy of Canada, which sends 75% of all goods exported to the United States.
- The premier of Ontario, the most populous province and the country's industrial heartland said Trump had good reason to be worried about the security of the long-shared frontier.
- In another early sign of strain, the premier of the oil-rich province of Alberta said late on Monday that Trump had valid concerns related to illegal activities at the shared border.
- "We are calling on the federal government to work with the incoming administration to resolve these issues immediately, thereby avoiding any unnecessary tariffs on Canadian exports to the U.S.," Premier Danielle Smith said in a social media post.
(Source: Reuters)