Ottawa is promising to boost border security to appease Donald Trump in the wake of the incoming U.S. president’s threat to slap a 25-per-cent tariff on all Canadian goods and services.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau convened an emergency meeting with the premiers Wednesday to forge a battle plan after Trump’s trade broadside two days earlier.
Trudeau told them that no one should assume the new president might change his mind or is bluffing, so his ultimatum must be taken seriously.
Trump announced Monday he would unilaterally impose the 25-per-cent levies on all products from Canada and Mexico on Jan. 20 unless America’s northern and southern neighbours stem the tide of illegal immigrants and fentanyl.
Speaking to reporters after Wednesday’s first ministers’ meeting, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said “we can make additional investments to reassure Canadians that all of the measures necessary are in place and will continue to be in place” at the border.
That means more funding for the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency, though LeBlanc had no details on that.
But he warned “we’ll continue to tighten the screws” to curb illegal border crossings between both countries.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland appealed for a “strong, smart and united” front among the premiers.
“Now is really a moment for us not to squabble amongst ourselves,” said Freeland.
“One of the premiers — who I will not name, I’ll allow him to speak for himself — said with a little bit of a chuckle, ‘I can’t believe I just agreed with Prime Minister Trudeau about so many things,’” she said.
A source privy to the talks, and who spoke to the Star confidentially to discuss the meeting, confirmed that it was Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford told his colleagues “we have to tighten up our border on both sides” and implored Ottawa for more CBSA and RCMP funding.
“We don’t need a plan a month down the road, we need a plan now,” he told reporters shortly before the 5 p.m. confab in which he also appealed for unity so “we all sing from the same song sheet.”
Ford also said Canada needs to go on the offence in a trade war.
“We’re going to make sure that we do retaliate — that’s the only option if they start putting 25-per-cent tariffs,” he said, reiterating the unfairness of Trump equating Canada with Mexico when it comes to illegal migrants and drug smuggling.
Afterward, he issued a statement saying that “the federal government has been slow to react and is stuck on its backfoot,” though sources said he was more collegial and less critical behind closed doors.
Quebec Premier François Legault said Trump’s concerns are “legitimate” but suggested he would not support Canada retaliating with reciprocal tariffs, saying “the last thing we want is a trade war.”
But many other Canadian business leaders and premiers have adopted Ford’s harder line in reaction to Trump’s gambit, and Trudeau’s government is prepared for retaliatory levies on U.S. products.
A source said Freeland told the premiers that Ottawa is drafting a list of American products that could be subjected to dollar-for-dollar tariffs in retaliation for Trump’s aggressive moves — as they did during his first term in 2018.
In his announcement on Monday, Trump, who previously vowed to impose 60-per-cent tariffs on China, also pledged an additional 10 per cent.
His social media posts reverberated around the world, with markets and leaders taking notice. The U.S. dollar rose in relation to the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso.
For all the Liberals’ advance preparation, the tweets landed as a bombshell.
Trudeau’s immediate response was to call Trump and explain Canada is not Mexico, is not the same source of illegal immigration or fentanyl and wishes to work together to address issues at the border.
That chat, described as friendly and nonconfrontational, did not result in Trump dialing down his rhetoric.
Trudeau has also appealed to opposition parties in the House of Commons to back a “Team Canada” approach.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre rejected the prime minister’s ability to speak for Canada, saying Trudeau is too “weak” to face the “unprecedented threat” of Trump’s tariffs, and that “foreign leaders believe they can walk all over him.”
“Our economy is weakened, our borders are weakened, our military is weakened and most of all, our prime minister is weakened,” said Poilievre, calling for an election public opinion polls suggest he would win.
Quebec’s Legault signalled he too does not trust Canada to represent his province’s interests, and publicly demanded that a Quebec representative be part of any talks with the Trump administration, saying Ottawa should not “offer compromises” that would protect Alberta’s oil and Ontario’s auto sector, but imperil Quebec’s aerospace, aluminum, forestry and agricultural products.
In reality, Trump does not view tariffs as a solely economic negotiation.
His nominee for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, wrote in a column for Fox News less than two weeks ago saying that Trump has effectively used tariffs in the past as “a negotiating tool with our trading partners” and for achieving foreign policy objectives.
“Whether it is getting allies to spend more on their own defense, opening foreign markets to U.S. exports, securing co-operation on ending illegal immigration and interdicting fentanyl trafficking, or deterring military aggression, tariffs can play a central role,” he wrote.
“Our size gives us market power and the ability to dictate terms — other countries need us more than we need them. We have but to use that power.”
With Files From Rob Ferguson.
