Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the premiers met Wednesday to discuss strategy as president-elect Donald Trump threatens to upend the bilateral relationship with punitive tariffs on everything Canada sends to the U.S.
Trudeau has sought to reassure the country that Canada is equipped to handle Trump in his second term because he and his team have past experience with the sometimes mercurial incoming president.
The prime minister spoke to the premiers Wednesday around 5 p.m. ET about presenting a united front against the U.S. threats. The premiers were also expected to push Trudeau to change direction by acquiescing more to Trump’s demands to maintain cross-border trade.
At least one premier — Alberta’s Danielle Smith — signalled she’s not sure Trudeau is the person best placed to deal with Trump given past tensions between the two.
One of Trump’s former advisers, John Bolton, his national security adviser in the first term, has said the president-elect doesn’t like Trudeau and sent out his emissaries to attack the prime minister on U.S. television in the first term.
After he lost the presidency, Trump called Trudeau “a far-left lunatic” who “destroyed Canada” with his COVID-era policies. Trump also torpedoed the Canada-hosted G7 by lashing out at the prime minister on his way out of Charlevoix, Que.
“I don’t think we should underestimate the personal animus between these two leaders. And if he’s not the right person to have at the negotiation table, we need to make sure that the right person is,” Smith said in an interview with CBC’s Power & Politics before today’s meeting.
But Trudeau also said Tuesday he had a “good” conversation with Trump after he issued that social media post announcing his plan to levy tariffs the day he takes office.
Sources have described the phone conversation as productive, with Trudeau stressing there will be economic pain not only for Canada but for Americans if he goes ahead with his plan. Tariffs levied on Canadian goods could make those products more expensive to American consumers.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said he doesn’t agree with claims that there’s “personal animus” between the two leaders. He said Bolton and others can say what they want about Trudeau’s personal relationship with Trump while the prime minister concentrates on the task at hand.
“Our focus will be to build a constructive, collaborative relationship with the incoming administration in the U.S. It’s in Canada’s interest that we do so,” LeBlanc said.
Smith said from the premiers’ perspective, it’s not clear who’s leading Canada’s efforts to dissuade Trump from punishing the country with tariffs.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland leads cabinet’s Canada-U.S. committee, and Trudeau has tasked Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and International Trade Minister Mary Ng with leading the Team Canada outreach efforts to U.S. politicians and businesses.
“I think he’s probably recognized that” he’s not the best person to sit at the negotiating table with Trump, Smith said of Trudeau.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith tells Power & Politics the Trudeau government must ‘address’ border issues to avoid Trump’s ‘devastating’ tariff threat.
Smith, who said she’s worried about the severe economic ramifications for her province if Trump goes ahead with a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods, planned to push Trudeau to take Trump’s threats seriously and address what he’s most worried about: illegal migration and drugs from Canada headed to the U.S.
“Let’s stop the leaky border first, let’s stop the illegal migration first, let’s stop the fentanyl first. Let’s meet our NATO commitments first, and let’s see where we get with the Americans,” Smith said.
“The U.S. has legitimate issues that they have raised with us and we’ve got to address those legitimate issues.”
Asked if Smith risks undermining Canada’s negotiating hand when dealing with Trump by freelancing policy ideas from her perch in Alberta, the premier said she’s “voicing the concerns of Canadians.”
On the border and drugs, Smith said, “it is up to the federal government to change gears” to maintain a positive relationship with the U.S.
Trump has cited drugs and the border as the reason to slap tariffs on Canada and Mexico. But the data reveals Canada is not nearly as much of a concern to the U.S. on those two issues.
Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows the agency seized just 19.5 kg of fentanyl at the northern border last year compared to a whopping 9,570 kg at the southwestern one.
As for illegal migrants, there’s a huge disparity between Canada and Mexico.
CBP officers intercepted about 198,000 people crossing illegally into the U.S. from Canada over the last year — a fraction of the 2.1 million “encounters” at the southern border.
But there has been an uptick in these encounters along the northern border — two years ago, the number of encounters was less than 90,000.
An “encounter” is defined as CBP apprehending, detaining or expelling someone who has crossed into the U.S. illegally or is ineligible for entry.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario Premier Doug Ford have both said Mexico should be cut out of the North American trade agreement and Canada should sign a bilateral deal with the U.S., proposals that would curry favour with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey said Wednesday there are real concerns about some border issues — but it’s not just about what Canada’s sending to the U.S.
Migrants, drugs and firearms also flow over that border into Canada, Furey said in an interview on CBC News Network.
“We need to have a mature, adult conversation about how to fix those real issues at the border but applying tariffs to oil and gas, electricity, lumber and crab — that’s not going to change those real, pertinent issues that impact Canadians and Americans,” he said, citing some industries that could see tariffs applied if Trump goes ahead with his plan.
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Furey said he would counsel Trudeau to include the premiers in the “Team Canada” approach to the U.S. — the Liberal government’s plan of deploying Canadian officials across the U.S. to convince Americans it’s not in their best interest to take us on.
“I believe there is a diplomatic resolution to the president’s call,” Furey said.
Asked what sort of tone Trudeau and his team should take with Trump, Furey said tough but firm, given what’s at stake for the country economically.
More than 60 per cent of Newfoundland and Labrador’s seafood is exported to the U.S. and a 25 per cent tariff on those goods would be “devastating,” he said.
“I think we have to take an approach of being willing and wanting to work with the Trump administration but also we need to have the courage as leaders to stand up for what’s right, for what’s just and what’s fair for workers,” Furey said.
“The small communities, the heart and soul of Newfoundland and Labrador, will bear the burden of this incredibly punitive, myopic tariff.”
LeBlanc said he’s not worried about Smith or Furey, or any other premier, freelancing ideas about how to deal with Trump.
In fact, their ties to U.S. officials, including Republican governors, could be useful in the future, he said.
“The prime minister of Canada doesn’t control what elected first ministers say in terms of how they represent the interests of their province,” LeBlanc said.
“The good news is many premiers tell us they want to work in a collaborative, constructive way as a country to send a unified message to the American administration.”
Shortly before the meeting, Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters that he spoke with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) to understand how Canada can tighten its borders, adding that it “can’t ignore” Trump’s tariff threats.
“As the province of Ontario, we’ll do whatever it takes to help the CBSA, to help the OPP, but we need a plan across the border,” he said.
Ford said that Ontario recruits more than 2,000 police officers every year, while the RCMP “only have the funding for 1,200.”
“That system is broken,” he said. “The RCMP are starving, and we need to encourage the federal government to at least hit the quota that we have.”