Premiers decry Trump’s tariffs, announce countermeasures and call for
Several premiers are decrying U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose punishing tariffs on virtually all Canadian goods and are calling for a powerful retaliatory response from Ottawa while implementing countermeasures of their own.
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey said on Saturday that “we’re in a moment that is historic, an existential threat to the country. It’s not just an economic attack — I believe this to be an attack on Canadians, an attack on their values, on our sovereignty.
“It’s a moment where we need to stand strong and united in such an assault,” Furey told CBC News.
On Saturday evening, it was confirmed Trump will impose a 25 per cent tariff on virtually all Canadian goods, launching a trade war. According to a fact sheet from the White House, the president will put a lower 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy products.
As U.S. President Donald Trump launches a trade war against Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is urging Canadians to buy products made in this country and consider not taking vacations in the U.S.
These potentially devastating tariffs are slated to take effect on Tuesday and remain in place until Trump is satisfied Canada is doing enough to stop the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., according to the fact sheet.
Ontario Conservative Leader Doug Ford recently called a snap election to try to get a longer mandate as premier, in order to deal with the tariffs issue.
In a statement on Saturday, he said he’s “extremely disappointed that President Trump has chosen to walk away from a trading relationship that for decades has made life better for millions of workers on both sides of the border.”
“I wish we weren’t here,” Ford said. “I wish Ontario and Canada were working together with our American friends and allies to make our two countries the richest, most successful, safest, most secure on the planet.”
Canadian officials — Ford included — have spent months trying to get Trump to back off the move, to no avail. The president told reporters on Friday there was nothing Canada could do to stop the tariffs from coming into effect.
Now, Furey said, Canada must retaliate because “appeasement and capitulation is not the appropriate stance for the Canadian people right now, albeit it will cause some fiscal and economic pain on both sides of the border.”
Ford said the federal government has his full support “for a strong and forceful response that matches U.S. tariffs dollar for dollar.” He also argued Canada has resources that Americans need, like high-grade nickel and other critical minerals.
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