Eleven days before Donald Trump’s arrival at the White House, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (PCC) Pierre Poilievre believes that Canada must turn to new outlets for its exports in order to make the country “more independent and sovereign” against the United States.
“We are forced to sell 99% of our energy to the Americans, we have no other market,” he lamented in a press briefing Thursday in Ottawa.
“The solution to this is to stop being stupid and start building LNG plants, pipelines, refineries, upgraders and other energy infrastructure, so we can sell our energy to the world. rest of the world without going through the Americans,” he said in English.
In 2023, Canada supplied nearly 60% of the United States’ crude oil imports, 85% of its electricity imports and 99% of its natural gas imports, according to government data.
The opposition leader reiterated that he does not rule out responding to the American president with customs tariffs, if he becomes prime minister in the coming months. However, he did not specify his plan in this regard.
“We must identify the tariffs we will impose on strategic sectors of the United States, if necessary, in order to deter an economic attack on our economy,” he said.
A dialogue on the ground
As the president’s return approaches, Pierre Poilievre believes that we must “have the strength” to engage in dialogue with the Americans, particularly with business leaders and union leaders.
Asked about his personal steps in this regard, he indicated that he did not have the mandate to take steps at the moment, then calling on Justin Trudeau to call immediate elections.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister offered an interview with host Jake Tapper on the American network CNN.
Called upon to offer advice to his successor in confronting Donald Trump, Mr. Trudeau stressed the importance of adopting a “win-win” method with the next president. “We must understand that this is the method win-win (win-win) that we need. We succeed best when we work together. »
President-elect Donald Trump will return to the White House on January 20. He still threatens to impose tariffs of 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico upon his inauguration.
In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his provincial and territorial counterparts will meet next week to discuss a plan to respond to this threat.
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