At the end of the meeting of the prime ministers of the Canadian provinces and territories on relations with the United States, Ottawa seeks to “find the quickest way to incorporate the very positive suggestions of the provinces” and then present a plan to secure the border “to our American friends”, then finally to Canadians.
In a publication on . “I am still waiting for a clear commitment from Mr. Trudeau on this request,” declared the Prime Minister of Quebec.
The meeting is being held in the context where the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, is threatening to impose customs duties of 25% on Canadian imports if the Trudeau government does not do more to secure shared borders. In his opinion, the Canada-US border allows too much fentanyl and illegal immigrants to enter the United States.
On Wednesday evening, Justin Trudeau, Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland presented a preliminary version of the federal government’s plan to the leaders of the provinces and territories, then listened to their suggestions regarding their potential contribution. Mr. LeBlanc described the plan as “very positive.”
“This is a serious moment for Canada,” said Mr.me Freeland a few moments after the end of the virtual meeting. She added that “Canada must be united, smart, resolute and strong” by taking “a Team Canada approach” to managing the situation at the border. “By working together, Canada will win,” said the federal Minister of Finance.
Details of the plan remain unknown to the public, but temporary assistance from provinces and territories that translates into manpower and equipment, such as vehicles, to assist Canada’s border services and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have been mentioned.
Other suggestions
The prime ministers’ proposals were not limited to forms of aid at the border: François Legault suggested “requesting now a formal and bilateral renegotiation of our free trade agreement with the United States, rather than wait until 2026.” “We must do everything to avoid entering into a tariff war with our southern neighbors,” he wrote.
Mr. Legault also made requests regarding visas “to prevent those who arrive in Canada with a visa obtained under false pretenses from immigrating illegally to the United States.” He is thus seeking for Ottawa to require “a return plane ticket to the country of origin before being able to apply for a visa”, “a minimum of assets in the country of origin before being able to apply visa application” and conducts “a criminal background check”.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he had proposed and was ready to cut off the export of Canadian energy to certain American states in retaliation for the tariffs. Mr. Ford, however, clarified that he “does not want to go there”.
Asked whether Ottawa planned to take similar reprisals, Chrystia Freeland simply mentioned having listened to the proposals and recalled Mr. Trudeau’s comments on Monday where the Prime Minister indicated that Canada will always respond to unjustified tariffs.
During the short press conference following the meeting, Doug Ford made it clear that he “was always going to be there” to help the federal government, but that the border is first and foremost an Ottawa responsibility. The Premier of Ontario also showed confidence in the arrival of tariffs. “We need to be ready to fight. The fight is coming,” he said, adding that the only remaining question is not “if?” ”, but “when?” “.
“This is an important opportunity to speak with the premiers about our Team Canada approach. The fact that prime ministers have different perspectives and different approaches reinforces the common values we have as Canadians and helps us to be there to defend the interests of Canadians,” said Mr. Trudeau on his way to question period. earlier Wednesday.
Before the meeting, the Minister of Immigration, Marc Miller, stressed that the government must adopt the right tone. “Of course there are crazy things happening, there are shenanigans, but we have to be serious about it. Canadians expect their government to take the border issue seriously, to ensure the security of Canadians,” he said.
“We can’t be against ourselves and conflicting goals, I think that’s very important. Everything the United States does has a very significant impact on Canada, so now is not the time to play partisan politics,” added the minister.
Wednesday’s meeting between Mr. Trudeau and his counterparts is the second since Mr. Trump won the November presidential election in our southern neighbors, and the first since Mr. Trudeau and some members of his team were invited had dinner at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, with Mr. Trump almost two weeks ago.
Since this event, Mr. Trump’s remarks – who allegedly suggested that Canada become the 51e State of the United States — causes a lot of reaction. The president-elect added another layer on Tuesday, when he referred to Mr. Trudeau as the governor of the “great state of Canada” in a publication on his Truth Social network.
With The Canadian Press.
