Sunday December 1, 2024 – 2 pm | VICTORIA, BC
Political update by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The threat of 25% tariffs on all Canadian exports into the United States came from US President-elect on November 25, suddenly focusing all political attention on what could be a serious financial crisis for Canadian economy, jobs and cost of living.
Very quickly Canada’s Premiers (chaired this year by Ontario Premier Doug Ford) called for a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in order to sort out a strategy. “A 25 per cent tariff would be devastating to workers and jobs in both Canada and the U.S.,” said Ford.
“He just wants us to secure the border and I agree with him,” said Ford today in an interview on CTV. “We have to get a plan very quickly. We’ll see what the federal government comes back to us with. As the Chair of the Federation I will be asking when we’ll get a plan,” said Ford. They need 2,000 more agents at the Canadian border, said Ford, to stop the flow of drugs across the border.
The meeting between Trudeau and the premiers was held as a virtual call on Zoom, on Wednesday November 27.
A few days later on Friday November 29 Trudeau was having dinner at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Apparently the three-hour dinner covered a range of topics in casual discussion at the dinner table.
In social media, Trump described the Friday night dinner meeting as “very productive” in discussing fentanyl and the drug crisis, illegal immigration and Canadian-US trade.
Also attending the November 29 dinner meeting from Canada were Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc and Trudeau’s chief of staff Katie Telford who accompanied Trudeau on the flight from Ottawa to Palm Beach airport.
LeBlanc says the meeting was set up during a phone call between Trump and Trudeau on Monday evening, November 25, with Trump offering the invitation and apparently saying it would be good to get together before the inauguration (which comes up January 20, 2025).
The goal of the meeting was to reestablish what I saw to be a very cordial respectful relationship. The two men have known each other for a number of years,” said LeBlanc in a CBC news interview on December 1. “It was a warm sort of social evening,” said LeBlanc.
Trump asked Trudeau about different world leaders or different circumstances around the world, said LeBlanc. Trudeau and his small team met some of the incoming US cabinet secretaries including incoming Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick who will be responsible for the US trade rerpresentative function. LeBlanc spoke with Lutnik about tariffs and what they would mean to the economy. They also discussed the border and energy. They will continue that conversation over the coming weeks, said LeBlanc.
Trudeau and Trump talked about energy security, pipelines, conflicts around the world, and some of the challenges of China.
“We got a mutual understanding of what they’re concerned about in terms of border security. All of their concerns are shared by Canadians and the government of Canada.The president and his cabinet secretaries understood that,” said LeBlanc. Additional and visible measures to be put in place at the border over the coming weeks were discussed.
Canada’s premiers are likely pleased with this progress so far. Building working relationships between key players on both sides of the border is key to upcoming negotiations about tariffs or anything else.
BC Premier Eby weighs in:
Today on CBC BC Premier Eby said it is “very hard to understand how an unjustified tariff proposal like this can be brought forward by the president-elect, and what it would take to get him to remove that threat”.
“My hope is that the prime minister will engage to the best that he is able to,” Eby told CBC political news host Rosemary Barton.
“But my knowledge is that it’s going to take all of us working with everybody we can in the United States to understand the consequences for both of our countries and the people that live in both of our countries if this goes ahead.”
“For folks that do have that direct influence on the president to be able to put that pressure on and say ‘look this will be devastating for American business and families and for affordability for Americans,” said Eby, adding: “My hope is that it will work.”
“But I also know that there are people who firmly believe — who have better contact with the president’s line of thinking than I do — that if we address the border issues that his concern is legitimately migration and drugs,” said Eby,
“if we can demonstrate that we’re making progress on that, that may address the full issue. I certainly hope that’s the case,” said Eby.
But he added: “I do worry that if after this demand there will be other demands. And we’ll have to really make a case that we’re better together in terms of Canada and the United States that it’s a more prosperous future for both of our countries.”
===== RELATED:
- Canada’s Premiers discuss border & tariffs with Trudeau (November 27, 2024)
- Trump threatens 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico (November 25, 2024)
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