OTTAWA — Canada is preparing retaliatory tariffs in response to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's threat to levy a 25 per cent import tax on all Canadian goods, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatened to withhold the province's energy, which it exports to five states.
"We'll use every tool in our toolbox, including cutting them off," Ford said immediately after a meeting of the country's premiers with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and some members of the federal cabinet.
It was the second such meeting since Trump made the tariff threat, and the first since Trudeau flew to Florida to have dinner with the president-elect at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
In a Nov. 25 social media post, Trump said he would impose tariffs on all goods coming from Canada and Mexico unless both countries stop the flow of migrants and illegal drugs into the U.S.
Ford told reporters in Toronto on Wednesday that the federal government is preparing retaliatory tariffs.
"We need to be ready to fight, this fight is 100 per cent coming on Jan. 20 or Jan. 21," he said, referencing the date of Trump's inauguration.
In Ottawa, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters "a number of premiers spoke out strongly in favour of a robust Canadian response to unjustified tariffs" during the virtual meeting late Wednesday afternoon.
"Some premiers proactively identified products that their provinces produce and export to the United States and which the U.S. relies on, and which should be considered as part of the Canadian response. This included some critical minerals and metals."
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the government shared details of its border plan with the premiers, who offered to contribute provincial resources to the effort.
"We're going to incorporate many of the positive suggestions that the premiers made into finalizing our border plan," he said. "And then obviously a priority will be to share details of this plan with the incoming Trump administration and with Canadians in the coming days."
Ford said the premiers are on board with the plan to deal with Trump's concerns about the border, but it needs a bit of "polish."
The premiers also asked for more "boots on the ground" at the border, including increasing the number of officers with the Canada Border Services Agency and the RCMP, which Trudeau agreed to do.
Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai said in an interview he "personally was very impressed by what Canada put on the table in a response to border security and the illicit trade of fentanyl."
Freeland noted Canada responded to U.S. tariffs in 2018, and said "our response worked."
During Trump’s first administration, he used his national security powers to impose a 25 per cent tariff on steel and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminum imports.
Canada and other countries brought their own duties, targeting products for political, rather than economic, reasons. One of those was a 10 per cent yogurt duty, where most of the product impacted came from one plant in Wisconsin, the home state of then-Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Ultimately, Canada was able to negotiate an exemption.
The first ministers' meeting came a day after Trump launched more jibes at Trudeau on social media, calling him governor of "the great state of Canada" — a nod to his ribbing that he might just have Canada join the U.S. as its 51st state.
Ahead of the meeting, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said some conservative premiers have been giving off "very mixed messages," and now is the time to send signals of unity and a show of strength.
"What we need to do is acknowledge Trump is a bully. Bullies look for weakness. That's why he's trolling us," Singh said, demanding a clear plan of action.
Lawmakers are days away from starting an extended winter holiday break, but when MPs return to Parliament in January, it will be after the presidential inauguration — making Trump's social media taunts and threats all the more serious.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said in the face of that the government needs to strike the right tone.
"This is the first inning. Yeah, sure, there's some goofy stuff going on, there's some shenanigans, but we have to be serious about this. Canadians expect their government to be serious about the border, about making sure Canadians are safe and secure," he said on Wednesday morning.
"We can't be arguing against ourselves and at cross purposes, I think that's really important," he added. "Because anything the U.S. does impacts Canada so severely, this isn't the time for partisanship."
Canada has vowed to beef up border security in the face of Trump's threats, despite a lack of evidence for his claims about illicit fentanyl pouring into the U.S. from Canada.
Singh accused Trudeau of so far only acquiescing to Trump's demands.
But Liberal MP Sean Casey said it's not a problem if it appears Canada is bending to Trump's pressure.
"Whether it looks like we're caving to his demands is completely irrelevant," he said as he headed into the caucus meeting. "If his demands are aligned with the best interest of Canada, the perception of the relationship doesn't matter."
Wednesday's high-level meeting also comes days before Ford hosts the fall premiers' meeting in Mississauga, which lasts Sunday through Monday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 11, 2024.
-- With files from Nick Murray and Liam Casey in Toronto
Anja Karadeglija and Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press
