Summary
Canadian leaders, including Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland and provincial premiers, pledged unity against US president-elect Trump’s threat of a 25% blanket tariff on Canadian imports.
The tariffs, aimed at addressing drug and migrant flows, could disrupt key trade, including oil, driving up US fuel costs.
Canada is preparing retaliatory measures, echoing its response to Trump’s 2018 tariffs.
Officials argue such actions harm both economies, noting Canada is a critical supplier of energy and materials to the US. American oil groups also oppose the tariffs, citing potential consumer and industry harm.
The article says “Canadian leaders” but only mentions the Deputy PM by name. That troubles me.
Canada is on track to a Conservative government in our next election. The current Liberal regime is long in the tooth and Trudeau is unpopular. One of my biggest worries is that the new Conservative government will put appeasing Trump over the interests of Canadians.
I looked at a few Canadian news outlets, and it seems that this announcement by the Deputy PM is coming on the heels of a First Ministers’ meeting, which is the council of the PM and all ten provincial premiers. Nothing about this indicates that the federal opposition is on board, though the most conservative premier (Danielle Smith of Alberta) seemed to think it was a productive meeting.