OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada's premiers will meet in Ottawa Jan. 15 to finalize a plan to respond to tariff threats from U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, including discussing what the best targets are for Canada to retaliate with tariffs of its own.
The meeting comes as the federal and provincial governments are seized with responding to Trump's promise to slap an across-the-board import tariff of 25 per cent on Canada and Mexico on Jan. 20 and his escalating rhetoric about turning Canada into the 51st state.
Trudeau's office said earlier this week they were looking to meet in-person after two virtual first ministers' meetings on Trump's tariffs took place in November and December.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, after meeting virtually with other premiers Wednesday, confirmed that meeting will happen and said Ottawa has provided a "small list" of proposed retaliatory tariffs. He would not reveal what they are.
"I don't think it's strategic for Canadians or Ontarians to hand out the list," Ford said. The premiers have a strong plan, but Ford said they want to hear what strategy the federal government has come up with. "Let's just make sure that we do everything in our power, I mentioned to the premiers, to avoid these tariffs," Ford said.
In 2018, after Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum during his first term in the White House, Canada retaliated with tariffs on dozens of American exports tailored to cause maximum pain to Republican leaders in their home states, including whisky, chocolate, yogurt, and orange juice.
Trudeau's announcement Monday that he will resign as prime minister as soon as the Liberals elect a new leader added some uncertainty to Canada's ability to respond, and prompted a new round of insults from Trump about Trudeau's leadership. But Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who has been at the forefront of the national response thus far, said Monday he won't seek the leadership so he can focus solely on it.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said she hadn't decided whether to run or not but said in making her decision she is weighing her responsibilities as foreign affairs minister and the need to confront Trump's threats. She was among several ministers who said Canada should not overreact to Trump's threats but should also not take them lightly.
"When president-elect Trump talks, we need to listen and we need to take him very seriously. I never take his threats lightly, but at the same time we can't take the bait," Joly said.
LeBlanc, who attended the dinner at Mar-a-Lago in November where Trump first made the 51st state quip, initially dismissed it as just a "joke."
That's not how the government sees it now, with Trump continuing his taunts this week. Tuesday he said he would use "economic force" to annex Canada and Wednesday posted a map of Canada and the United States online, with the American flag superimposed over both countries. Trump captioned it, "Oh Canada."
International Trade Minister Mary Ng said Wednesday that Trump is "not" joking about the U.S. somehow absorbing Canada.
"He's not and we are taking it seriously and we will respond seriously as well," she said. "But I have done a lot of work meeting Canadian businesses, American businesses, American legislators and they understand the importance of this relationship."
Immigration Minister Marc Miller repeated an earlier comment comparing Trump's rhetoric to an episode of the animated comedy South Park. He said he'll only start to worry if Trump appoints Eric Cartman, a foul-mouthed 10-year-old from the show, to the joint chiefs of staff.
"It's silly, it's unbecoming of a president to say that, but we do have to take it seriously and we will continue to do that," he said.
In a post on X, Quebec Premier François Legault said Trump's comments "must be taken seriously."
“There is clearly no question of Canada becoming the 51st American state, but Mr. Trump will use every opportunity at his disposal to increase his balance of power," Legault wrote in French. "All the more reason to keep a cool head and refuse to play the president-elect’s game."
He said his responsibility is to protect Quebec’s economy from “the threat of tariffs that could cause significant damage.”
"Certainly we’d like to have less uncertainty in the federal government right now," he added. "However, Quebec and the rest of Canada are not without the means to act.”
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey said Wednesday that Trump has a history of making comments that start off as jokes but become policy.
"This is a strong and sovereign country, and it will always be a strong and sovereign country," Furey said. "To have, unfortunately, our best friend ... threaten our sovereignty is completely unacceptable."
B.C. Premier David Eby said he's been having conversations with governors about how the tariffs would hurt both countries, including a call with Washington Governor Jay Inselee today.
“As always, Canadians stand ready to help our American friends when they are in need. However, we will never sacrifice our identity or independence to any other country in the world. And we will always stand strong against any threat to our people," Eby said.
Two former U.S. ambassadors to Canada also weighed in on how Canada should respond to the annexation threat.
Gordon Giffin, who served under former U.S. president Bill Clinton, said Trump has "gone too far."
"Unfortunately, the president-elect has become enamoured with the line and he is almost just reverting to it in an unconscious way," he said.
Giffin said Canada should be calm and firm in its response.
“I think Canada and Canadian leaders ought to be dismissive of it," he said. "I wouldn’t scowl and take offence. I would just be dismissive.”
Bruce Heyman served as U.S. ambassador to Canada under former president Barack Obama from 2014 to 2017. He also called on Canadian officials to keep their cool.
"I don’t think everybody should be overreacting to this at this moment," Heyman said. "Don’t overreact to every press conference and look at the opportunity you have ahead of you and work that diplomatically."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 8, 2025.
— With files from Sarah Smellie in St. John's, Morgan Lowrie in Montreal, Liam Casey in Toronto and Ashley Joannou in Vancouver.
David Baxter, The Canadian Press
