With just hours to go until US president Donald Trump returns to the Oval Office, Canadian officials say they still don't know if he will follow through on his constant threat of punitive tariffs on Canadian goods .
“We've done a lot of good advocacy work, but we're also now ready to respond to whatever decision (Trump) makes, assuming they come next,” he said. Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc in an interview about it. Rosemary Barton live which aired on Sunday.
Trump has threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods – a move that experts and lawmakers have warned against it would be devastating to the Canadian economy.
Canadian officials have been fighting to get Trump to back down. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meet with Trump at the end of November. Ontario has threatened to be cut off energy export. Now, Canada prepared counter-taxes that would apply to $37 billion in products that would be less harmful to the Canadian economy.
When asked if he has any indication of Trump's tariff plan, LeBlanc said Canadian officials have been talking to Republican senators and the president's cabinet secretaries, but the situation is still unclear.
CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton talks to finance minister Dominic LeBlanc about how Canada is preparing for possible tariffs from the United States. Barton also talks to Ontario Energy Minister Stephen Lecce about his trip to Washington for the presidential inauguration, and Ontario's response to US President Donald Trump's tariff threat.
“Either they don't know, or they're not telling us or (president) Trump hasn't made those final decisions,” LeBlanc told host Rosemary Barton.
If he has to, LeBlanc said Canada's initial plan is to have a “very short” consultation period on the first round of countermeasures in response to whatever Trump does and then consider increase
“Our goal is not to learn how to live with potential tariffs,” LeBlanc said. The goal, in his words, “is to have temporary measures to get us out, hopefully, from the other side of those tariffs (USA).
Wilbur Ross, who was the secretary of commerce in the first administration of Trump, said that he does not believe that the president will enter the office on Monday and will automatically go on tariffs on Canada.
Ross also said it's “good for Canada to prepare so they're not scrambling around,” although he cautioned that it's not in Canada's best interest to get into a “turf war” with the U.S. because it is so vital to the Canadian economy.
Alliance fighting
Canada's efforts to avoid Trump's tariffs took a hit on Wednesday after an hour-long meeting in Ottawa between the 13 top regulators and the prime minister.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith posted on social media that she might not to join the Canadian plan to take on Trump as federal government officials “continue publicly and privately to think about cutting energy supplies to the US and imposing export tariffs on Alberta energy and other products to the United States.”
“Until these threats cease, Alberta will not be able to fully support the federal government's plan to address the threatened taxes,” she said.
As Danielle Smith prepares to attend Donald Trump's inauguration, her approach to dealing with the threat of 25 percent tariffs on goods coming from Canada has been consistent. She is trying to negotiate rather than revenge. The CBC's Sam Samson has more.
Smith's comments drew concern from Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who said “country comes first” and Canada must be united.
Ontario Energy Minister Stephen Lecce said the province understands Smith's concerns, but “at the end of the day unity is our strength.” “
“Premier Ford has made the case, to get the most pressure on the US, to deny (president) Trump the ability to divide and conquer within of the federation, we must be united,” said Lecce in an interview ahead. Rosemary Barton live.
LeBlanc said the federal government is confident there is “a lot of consensus” in Canada on how to proceed with Trump's tariffs, and that Ottawa is “sensitive” to Alberta's concerns.
Asked why Canada can't get Trump to back down on his threats, Lecce said the president-elect, who has previously criticized security, “is changing goals.” Canadian borders, defense costs and trade imbalances with the United States.
The U.S. can work with Ontario and Canada to create an “unstoppable energy alliance,” Lecce said, or it can pursue trade with the “dictators of the world.”
Ontario's energy minister also said he thinks it's “sober minds,” and that the U.S. will recognize Canada's economic value and understand that the two countries “need each other to drive that growth.” “
