All 13 of Canada’s premiers will meet in Toronto today to discuss top issues for their provinces and territories, including health care, energy security and Canada-U.S. relations as Donald Trump threatens to impose a punishing 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods.
The Council of the Federation meeting comes amid questions over how exactly Canada should respond to the U.S. president-elect’s threat, which could have a devastating impact on the Canadian economy if implemented.
The premiers have collectively expressed alarm about the threat, but they’ve also proposed different ideas to tackle the problem.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who chairs the council, has threatened withholding energy exports to the U.S. if Trump levels the tariff. Ford said Ontario sends electricity to power 1.5 million homes in U.S. states such as Michigan, Minnesota and New York.
Chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton speaks with Ontario Minister of Energy and Electrification Stephen Lecce about Premier Doug Ford considering cutting off Ontario’s energy supply if Donald Trump moves forward with his threat of 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods. Alberta’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Safety Mike Ellis talks about that province’s newly unveiled border security plan.
Stephen Lecce, Ontario’s energy minister, said Ford’s message to the council is that there needs to be “a strong, robust suite of actions to implement on day one if [the Americans] pursue this path.”
“I think the president-elect’s psychology is he respects strength,” Lecce said on Rosemary Barton Live. “We need to demonstrate an element of strength and unity in this moment.”
Other provinces, like Alberta, say they won’t support any tariffs on oil and gas heading to the U.S. and are instead urging diplomacy.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she’ll be telling her provincial counterparts “how Alberta is actively securing our border and meeting with our allies in the U.S. to share with them the importance of Alberta oil and gas in ensuring North American energy security and affordability.”
“Further, I will reiterate that Alberta is opposed to cutting off or taxing its oil and gas exports to the U.S.” Smith said in a Saturday evening statement sent to CBC. “This is the strategy Alberta will focus on — as should the rest of Canada.”
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey told host Rosemary Barton he expects the premiers to discuss the importance of a united response during the meeting in Toronto.
“I worry that if every premier is out opining on chaotic affairs, we create a scene that could be deemed to be chaotic by the incoming president and subsequently gives a position of strength and leverage to the United States,” Furey said.
“I don’t think a trade war is good for Canada, it’s not good for the United States,” Furey added. “Let’s hope that diplomatic channels can bear fruit and prevent a trade war.”
Provinces want action from Ottawa
When Trump issued his tariff threat on social media, he demanded both Canada and Mexico curb the flow of drugs and migrants from their countries into the United States.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the premiers to discuss how Ottawa will address Trump’s concerns.
After the meeting, Ford told reporters that what he heard was a “good start” and now the goal is to implement the plan.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc says premiers responded positively to the border plan presented by the federal government and offered suggestions on collaboration during a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on U.S.-Canada relations ahead of president-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
The government is considering spending hundreds of millions of dollars to protect the Canada-U.S. border — possibly even more than $1 billion — in an attempt to allay Trump’s concerns, sources have told CBC News and Radio-Canada.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc has said part of the federal government’s border plan will be revealed today when it presents the much-anticipated fall economic statement, a document expected to offer fiscal projections for the year ahead.
Lecce said the federal government has a pathway to work out a deal with the Trump administration, which he said also requires action on Canada’s defence spending — a sticking point for U.S. officials.
“These issues of GDP spending on defence have come up in virtually every meeting I’ve had,” Lecce said, referring to his conversations in Washington and New York City. “This is a real concern for them.”
In late November, Trudeau told NATO allies that Canada is on track to meet its commitment to spend two per cent of GDP on defence by 2032.
If Canada can address the defence spending and border concerns, “I do believe that we can really avert a scenario where this tariff is imposed,” Lecce said.
The premiers will hold a closing news conference later today at 2 p.m. ET.