The Prime Ministers differed on the deployment of force as they met with Trudeau

Article content

OTTAWA – Ontario Premier Doug Ford urged his colleagues to put the country first as the premiers sat down with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday to speed up a response to United States president-elect Donald Trump and his threat of potentially damaging tariffs on Canada.

Article content

Article content

“Part of being Team Canada means recognizing and respecting each other’s provinces and territories,” said Ford. “But nothing is more important than the country.”

Article content

Trudeau opened the meeting in Ottawa by promising that Finance and Government Minister Dominic LeBlanc would walk the prime minister through the government’s “big” border plan.

“It includes three main issues: first, the united war against illegal drugs, especially fentanyl,” said Trudeau, adding that this is one of the key issues of the Trump administration.

Two other issues are joint management of border security and “ensuring the continued integrity of our immigration system,” he said.

Trump initially said the 25 percent tariffs were due to drugs and illegal immigration crossing the shared border, but he has since tried to attribute the trade deficit between the United States and Canada.

Prime ministers will focus on possible monetary responses in the second half of the meeting, Trudeau said, adding that the party is united in representing the national interest.

The prime ministers are divided when it comes to how the country should respond.

Ford, in his opening remarks, said he strongly believed in the cost of revenge.

Article content

Article content

“You can’t let someone hit you on the head with a hammer without retaliating twice in my opinion,” he said.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey told reporters Wednesday morning that Canada should make sure the US is aware of its strong dependence on Canadian energy but not back off on those exports yet.

Furey, whose province is an oil producer, said Canada must have a proportionate response but should not overplay its hand by blocking or reducing US energy exports.

“I see momentum as the queen of Canada in this game of chess,” he said. “There is no need for us to reveal our queen in advance. The opposition must know that the queen exists but they must not know what we will do with the queen.”

Quebec Premier Francois Legault said Canada should have options prepared if Trump follows through on that threat, as most prime ministers expect he will.

Both Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith rejected the idea of ​​any measures that would affect Canada’s energy exports to the United States.

“If you look at the pipeline system, how the oil is transported to the US and back to Canada … it would be very difficult and I think practically impossible to consider that,” Moe said.

Article content

“Politically, it would be more divisive than anything this Liberal government has done, in terms of policies, in the last nine years.”

When asked about the idea of ​​cutting or limiting energy exports to the US, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said he does not want to see actions taken that undermine national unity.

Kinew said Canada should carefully plan its response to the threat of tariffs.

“A party that is in a hurry to complete its negotiations often sacrifices its strength in this process. So, I understand that there is a lot of economic uncertainty right now, but we need a firm hand,” he said.

Canada is the top supplier of foreign oil to the US and accounts for about one-fifth of its oil supply.

Ford, who currently chairs the premiers’ body known as the Council of the Federation, arrived at the meeting wearing a blue baseball cap emblazoned with the message “Canada is not for sale” – a reference to Trump’s repeated claims that he wants to unite. Canada is entering the US using “economic power.”

“President Trump wants to destroy Canada,” Ford said. “That is not acceptable.”

Article content

Ford has estimated that the tariffs could cost 500,000 jobs in Ontario alone.

Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King recently wrapped up a tour of the northeastern United States talking about exports from his province.

King said the threatened tariffs could cost his province 25 percent of its GDP and more than 1,400 jobs.

“When you come from a place like Prince Edward Island, that’s a disaster,” he said.

When asked about the hope that Ottawa will release money to help the provinces with the tax threat, King said that nothing can be done.

“All options must be on the table, and they are, but I think that if there are steps they take, all that money should be dispersed throughout the country to help the states and help companies respond,” King said. .

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort over the weekend. He attended the meeting on Wednesday, along with British Columbia Premier David Eby.

Trump and his allies have been mocking Canada for making it the 51st country since Trudeau and LeBlanc took their trip to Mar-a-Lago.

Kinew said Canada needs a “locker room test” in these negotiations.

“Fifty-one situation, you have to tweet again. Where is our tweet? This is not just a trade war, this is also a meme war. And have we been showing that ability to tweet back? I don’t know,” he said.

Article content