Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has pledged a “Canada first” approach to foreign policy in response to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s threat of steep tariffs on Canadian goods.
“President Trump has the right to put his workers and his nation’s security first. I will put Canada’s workers and Canada’s security first,” Poilievre said during a Nov. 26
press conference in Ottawa.
Trump issued a statement a day earlier, pledging a
25 percent tariff on all goods from Canada and Mexico starting on Jan. 20, 2025, the first day of his administration. Trump adopted an “America First” policy during his first term, which remains a central focus of his platform for his upcoming second term.
Trump blamed Canada and Mexico for being pathways for the large number of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs entering the United States, adding that until they solve this problem, “it is time for them to pay a very big price!”
“This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” he
wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
Several Canadian premiers
have called on Ottawa to swiftly tighten border security in response to Trump’s warning.
“The federal government needs to take the situation at our border seriously. We need a Team Canada approach and response—and we need it now,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford wrote on the social media platform X, saying that a 25 percent tariff would be “devastating” for both Canadian and U.S. workers.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called Trump’s concerns about illegal activities at the border “valid,” and urged Ottawa in a social media
post to work with the incoming U.S. administration to “resolve these issues immediately” and avoid the tariff.
Both
Ford and Smith have recently suggested removing Mexico from a trilateral trade deal to focus on trade with the United States, citing concerns about Chinese imports to Mexico that are redirected into Canada and the United States, bypassing their trade restrictions.
When asked if he agrees with cutting Mexico from the trade deal, Poilievre said his focus is also on trade with Canada’s southern neighbour.
“America is responsible for over 60 percent of our trade. We trade more with the U.S. than we do with the rest of the world combined. I will do what is necessary to preserve and protect that relationship above all others,” Poilievre said.
Cabinet Response
Trudeau
told reporters on Nov. 26 that he had a “good call” with Trump following his tariff threat, saying that the two leaders had discussed “laying out the facts” as well as “how the intense and effective connections between our two countries flow back and forth.”
The prime minister also said he had contacted Ford to set up a first ministers’ meeting this week to discuss the matter.
Several cabinet ministers responded to Trump’s proposed tariff as they headed to a federal cabinet meeting on Nov. 26.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the proposed tariff should be taken seriously and discussions with the incoming Trump administration will continue, adding that Canada would highlight the strategic nature of the relationship and the potential impact on the U.S. economy.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Canada is considering several measures to deal with illegal immigration.
“Clearly, this will be part of a discussion that we'll have with the Americans when we have an opportunity to sit down,” he said.
Housing Minister Sean Fraser expressed confidence in resolving “whatever challenges we may have with the United States,” calling it “a long-standing ally.”
‘Canada First’
Poilievre proposed several responses to the potential U.S. tariff, including eliminating the carbon tax, lifting the energy cap, overhauling the immigration system, and strengthening the military to enhance security.On the economy, he urged Trudeau to adopt a “Team Canada” approach by removing the two carbon taxes—the Federal Carbon Pricing Framework and the Clean Fuel Regulations.
“This was an irresponsible policy to begin with, but combining this kind of crippling energy tax increase with potential tariffs from Donald Trump would push our economy into a nightmare and a tailspin,” Poilievre said.
“Our economy is teetering on the brink of collapse, and now we face this renewed threat. We need a plan—a plan to put Canada first on the economy and on security,” he added.
Poilievre also called for the elimination of the
Liberals’ energy cap, which he said would reduce energy production in Alberta and Saskatchewan by 35 percent, leading to job losses.
Ottawa introduced a proposal Nov. 4 to set a cap on greenhouse gas emissions within the oil and gas sector in a bid to reduce emissions by at least 35 percent from 2019 levels by 2030.Poilievre said Trump’s pledge to
cut U.S. gas prices by half presents an opportunity for Canadian energy exports, noting that the policy would only work if it imports more energy from Canada.
Asked about the opposition leader’s call to eliminate the emissions cap, Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson told reporters that Canada must work with the United States to maintain oil and gas exports.
“If you think about oil that’s exported to the United States, a lot of it is heavy crude. The refineries there are set up to process heavy crude,” he
said after the Nov. 26 cabinet meeting. “If they don’t have access to Canadian crude or it’s much more expensive, their alternative is crude from Venezuela or Mexico. I’m not sure that’s in the long-term interest of either Canada or the United States.”
As part of the effort to enhance economic security, Poilievre called on Ottawa to track and ensure the departure of 4.9 million temporary foreign workers whose permits expire by year’s end.
This call follows Trudeau’s
video statement last week, in which he
blamed “bad actors” for exploiting Canada’s temporary foreign worker system and misleading international students and immigrants with bogus paths to citizenship. The Liberal government has also pledged to reduce new permanent residency targets, aiming for 395,000 in 2025, down from the previous target of 500,000.
Jennifer Cowan and Noé Chartier contributed to this report.
