Threat of tariffs from Trump | Trudeau government promises to invest to secure the border

(Ottawa) The Trudeau government promises new investments to ensure increased surveillance at the Canada-US border and thus convince President-elect Donald Trump to abandon the idea of ​​imposing customs tariffs of 25% on all products Canadians upon his return to power on January 20.

These investments will allow the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to hire new police officers, the Border Services Agency to recruit more officers, and law enforcement to purchase drones and helicopters, among others. others, to secure the border, indicated the Minister of Public Security, Dominic LeBlanc.

Mr. LeBlanc lifted the veil on Ottawa’s strategy aimed at reassuring the provincial premiers and the new American administration at the end of an emergency meeting between Justin Trudeau and his provincial counterparts. Mr. Trudeau called this meeting to discuss the president-elect’s protectionist threats. He took the opportunity to appeal for unity among Canadian leaders in the face of the new administration.

Mr. LeBlanc, who participated in the emergency meeting, as did Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, made these remarks after the Prime Minister of Quebec, François Legault and his Ontario counterpart, Doug Ford, among others , demanded that Ottawa present a detailed plan as quickly as possible to secure the Canada-US border.

But this federal commitment did not seem to convince the Premier of Quebec. “I clearly asked Mr. Trudeau to table a detailed plan to better secure the borders to avoid Mr. Trump’s 25% tariff. […] I didn’t get a clear answer. […] I think it’s important that we table a plan,” said Mr. Legault during a brief press briefing in Quebec.

Read the article ““No clear answer” from Trudeau, deplores Legault”

Military spending

The Prime Minister of Manitoba, New Democrat Wab Kinew, also urged the Trudeau government to loosen the purse strings to not only hire new police officers and create a dedicated border detachment, but also to increase military spending and reduce them to 2% of GDP, as required by NATO.

Before the virtual meeting of prime ministers, which was also attended by Canada’s ambassador to Washington, Kirsten Hillman, Ontario Premier Doug Ford poorly hid his impatience with the lack of a detailed plan for the border.

“The federal government must have a plan. We don’t need a plan in a month. We need a plan now. We must tighten control of our borders, and that on both sides too,” Mr. Ford said during a press briefing in Toronto.

In the morning, François Legault reiterated that Ottawa had an obligation to quickly take the necessary measures to reassure Donald Trump, who, according to him, has “legitimate” concerns about the border.

“We must reassure Mr. Trump, we must do more on the borders. Mr. Trudeau must not try to deny the problem,” he added.

Mr. Trump turned to his network, Truth Social, on Monday evening to announce that one of his first acts on his inauguration day would be to sign an executive order to implement these measures.

“This tax will remain in effect until drugs, especially fentanyl, and all illegal immigrants stop this invasion of our country!” Both Canada and Mexico have the absolute right and power to easily resolve this long-standing problem,” he wrote.

Team Canada

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is due to table her next budget in the spring. But she could take advantage of her economic statement scheduled within two weeks to announce new security spending.

In a press briefing after the meeting, Mr.^me Freeland urged provincial and territorial leaders to put on their Team Canada jerseys to weather the economic storm that could hit the country.

“Our country faces a significant challenge. […] We can meet this challenge successfully,” said M.^me Freeland.

In the Commons, the leader of the Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, said that Justin Trudeau “is too weak to protect our economy against the threats of Donald Trump. »

He called for federal elections as soon as possible so that Canadians can provide themselves with a prime minister who will put “Canada first” and will be able to stand up to Donald Trump.

“While it has been three weeks since the president-elect was elected, and a few days since the threat was repeated, what is the prime minister’s plan? It’s a call on Zoom with the provincial premiers, who say that the Prime Minister is too weak. Quebec will send the Sûreté du Québec to protect the borders. Alberta says the Prime Minister is not defending our economy. When will there be elections to have a strong leader to protect our economy? »