Wednesday January 22, 2025 | NATIONAL NEWS via VICTORIA, BC
Political news update by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Today the prime minister held another meeting with Canada’s Premiers about Canada-US challenges, in particular the US threat of tariffs.
This is the second meeting in seven days, and there are more weekly meetings to come.
These meetings — in particular their frequency – is an indication of how significant the issues are for Canada, both economically and politically — both domestically across the provinces and bilaterally with the US.
Running in parallel to these meetings are those of the federal cabinet’s Canada-US group (which last met yesterday January 21) and the prime minister’s Canada-US Council of leaders in business, labour and policy (which held its first meeting last week).
Premiers after today’s meeting:
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe does not support broad-based counter-tariffs, as he told media after today’s meeting. “We need to work together as sub-national leaders and as Canadians work together to de-escalate the conversation around potential tariffs,” said Moe.
Contacts with the incoming Trump administration, governors, senators and house of representatives is going on. Moe encourages the business community to reach out and talk to decision makers. He says that “integration of the North American economy” provides food, energy and manufacturing and overall general security of the country.
Nova Scotia’s Premier Tim Houston wants his province to be more self-reliant.
Houston said today “if we needed more urgency to strengthen our country, we got it”. He emphasize the value of Canada’s natural resources and tap into that potential. He wants to see Nova Scotia access “customers all around the world” for Canadian products, calling the United States “a huge market and a convenient customer” but that “now is the time to look for diversification across our country and around the world”.
“A project like Energy East could move resources from the west to the east and then on to Europe. It would open up incredible opportunities for our country,” said Houston today.
Houston feels it is ill-advised to recommend against travel to the US. He encourages everyone to visit Nova Scotia. He says that around the premiers’ table there is a “concerted effort” to have people “visit the United States” to promote Canadian interests.
Yesterday BC Premier Eby said nothing is off the table so far as BC’s response is concerned, and that the whole idea of implementing tariffs is a
“bizarre” action on Trump’s part. BC Premier Eby suggested that British Columbians think twice about travelling to the US this year. He was referring more to leisure travel, as a flavour of ‘buy local’.
Border plan:
The federal government is implementing its $1.3 billion border plan. In today’s statement from the prime minister’s office, the border plan details include that there will be new investments in expanded personnel, cutting-edge technology, and increased law enforcement co-ordination.
“The Canada-U.S. border accounts for a fraction of illegal crossings into the U.S. and less than 0.2 per cent of fentanyl seized by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol,” it was stated by the PMO.
“In addition to the federal government’s plan, provinces and territories have also announced significant border security initiatives. Together, we are committed to working closely with the new U.S. administration on border security issues. The prospect of unjustified 25 per cent tariffs, imposed unilaterally by the U.S. against its closest ally, is a matter of grave concern. Tariffs on Canadian goods would increase the cost of living for consumers on both sides of the border, put thousands of jobs at risk, and weaken North America’s competitiveness in the global economy.”

Weekly meetings:
Weekly meetings of the PM and premiers was a commitment made at the January 15 meeting.
Today’s meeting:
Today, the Prime Minister, alongside the Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs, Dominic LeBlanc, the Minister of Transport and Internal Trade, Anita Anand, and Canada’s Ambassador to the United States of America, Kirsten Hillman, convened a virtual meeting with Canada’s premiers to discuss the Canada-U.S. relationship.
The Prime Minister and the premiers shared insights from recent conversations with their U.S. counterparts and agreed to continue advocating for Canadian workers and businesses.
“The Prime Minister stressed that a strong, united Team Canada approach is the best way to promote Canadian interests and forge a productive relationship with the incoming administration. First Ministers discussed a wide range of measures that federal, provincial, and territorial governments are prepared to take to respond to the proposed U.S. tariffs and support Canadians, while recognizing that preventing the imposition of tariffs remains Canada’s top priority,” it was stated in the PMO release.
Reducing trade barriers:
Today premiers discussed the importance of reducing barriers to trade within Canada and agreed that there is more work to be done to facilitate internal trade. The Prime Minister and premiers also agreed that the Committee on Internal Trade should meet as soon as possible to make recommendations to First Ministers on concrete measures to liberalize trade and strengthen Canada’s economy.
Trudeau underscored the importance of the ongoing partnership between federal, provincial, and territorial governments in the weeks and months ahead, and he thanked his counterparts for their contributions. The Prime Minister and the premiers agreed to meet again next week to provide updates on their efforts to strengthen Canada-U.S. relations.
Trudeau today said: “Canada and the United States are friends, partners, and allies. Together, we have built the world’s closest and most integrated economies and supply chains, created millions of good jobs for people in both countries, and operated the longest and most secure border on Earth. Canadians and Americans understand the profound importance of the ties that unite our two countries when it comes to our shared economic prosperity and continental security.”
===== Associated Links
- Canada-United States relations
- First Ministers’ statement on the Canada-United States relationship
- Statement by the Prime Minister on the inauguration of Donald J. Trump as President of the United States of America
- Government of Canada announces its plan to strengthen border security and our immigration system
- Committee on Internal Trade
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with premiers on the Canada-U.S. relationship