Trudeau said Trump is a ‘skilled negotiator’ who likes to keep people ‘a little bit off balance’
MONTEBELLO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that “everything is on the table” in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods.
“Everything is on the table and I support the principle of dollar-for-dollar matching tariffs. It’s something that we are absolutely going to be looking at if that is how they move forward,” said Trudeau.
Trump told reporters on Monday evening that he will levy the tariffs on Canada for allowing “vast numbers of people to come in and fentanyl to come in,” to the United States.
“I think we’ll do it Feb. 1,” Trump said.
In response to a question from a reporter about the shifting timelines coming from the Trump administration, Trudeau said that Trump is a “skilled negotiator” who likes to keep people “a little bit off balance.”
“We’ve been here before,” said Trudeau, referring to the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), during Trump’s first term.
“Our focus is on remaining calm, remaining strong, and responding as necessary to actions by the United States,” said Trudeau.
At the retreat in Montebello, QC, about an hour outside of Ottawa, the prime minister told reporters Monday that his cabinet would meet to “dig into the issues facing Canadians.” But the Canada-U.S. relationship is the main course of those discussions.
“At the moment, what unites us here is really working on the relationship with the United States because it is existential. The threat of tariffs is still there, it’s happening right now. So we’re going to be focused with the prime minister on making sure that we protect the interests of Canadians,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, on Monday..
Her colleague Mark Holland, the health minister, echoed the “Team Canada” sentiment the prime minister and premiers stressed last week when they met in Ottawa.
“I have a great sense of optimism. I think there is every reason to believe our countries can work together for our respective prosperity,” he said.
Politicians and Canadians, however, remain concerned about the president’s intention to impose tariffs on other countries like Canada, Mexico and China.
On Monday, Quebec Premier François Legault suggested at a news conference that the federal government should compensate provinces that would be hardest hit by a Canadian response to Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs.
“If a province like Alberta had to make efforts that cost more than all the provinces, there should be compensation from the federal government. The idea is to make Canada win, but not necessarily to make one province pay more than another,” Legault said.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the cabinet will discuss issues related to border security, cross-border trade, supply chains and job creation.
Cabinet ministers met for dinner Monday night and will meet all day Tuesday at the Chateau Montebello in the Outaouais region. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Trade Minister Mary Ng were in Washington on Monday for Trump’s inauguration and should arrive in Montebello Tuesday.
The prime minister is expected to answer questions from reporters Tuesday morning before the meeting.
Trudeau resigned on Jan. 6 and is likely attending his last cabinet retreat as prime minister.
More to come…
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