Prime Minister François Legault ended his silence on Donald Trump’s threats on Wednesday by declaring that they had to be “taken seriously.” However, he invites Quebecers to “keep a cool head” and “not play the president-elect’s game.”
“There is obviously no question of Canada becoming the 51e American state, but Mr. Trump will use every opportunity at his disposal to increase his balance of power. All the more reason to keep a cool head and refuse to play the president-elect’s game,” declared the Prime Minister in a long message on the X platform.
Unlike his Ontario counterpart, Doug Ford, who is on every platform to respond to Mr. Trump, Mr. Legault has been more discreet in recent days.
And, unlike Prime Minister Ford, he does not threaten retaliation against the United States in the event of a tariff increase.
In his message, he emphasizes that the United States is particularly dependent on Quebec aluminum. “The United States does not have the capacity to produce the equivalent of Quebec aluminum on its territory and the imposition of tariffs of 25% would hurt them. »
Regarding border security, he reiterated that it is a “concern” that he has “in common” with Donald Trump. The Sûreté du Québec, he wrote, has been patrolling along the border with the United States since he gave a directive on this subject on November 19. “We expect the federal government to significantly tighten the granting of visas and take all necessary measures on its side,” he also mentions.
François Legault made this outing before a meeting of the Council of the Federation related to this issue held Wednesday afternoon. The provincial premiers then had to agree on a common strategy for the emergency meeting called for next Wednesday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa.
At the end of the Council meeting, they announced that a group of them would go to Washington on February 12. François Legault’s cabinet confirmed that he would be part of the delegation. The Prime Minister of Quebec must also go there a second time in the following weeks, his team indicated.
-A negotiator yet to be named
François Legault was also criticized on Wednesday for his slowness in appointing a chief negotiator who would represent Quebec in negotiations on tariffs with the United States. “Although he promised last November to appoint a chief negotiator for Quebec, this appointment has still not taken place,” denounced the interim leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ), Marc Tanguay, in a communicated Wednesday.
Mr. Legault made this promise at the end of November in the wake of Donald Trump’s threats to increase tariffs to 25%. It was a question, he said then, of having a representative at the negotiating table to ensure that the federal government would not compromise at the expense of Quebec, for example by protecting the oil, gas or automobile industry in detriment to Quebec sectors. At the time, the Prime Minister said he wanted to appoint this person in the “coming weeks”.
According to the PLQ, this person must be appointed “without delay”. “Donald Trump has had time to name his entire administration, while François Legault has not yet even designated the person responsible for defending Quebec’s economic interests,” argued the interim leader.
Asked about this, the Prime Minister’s Office indicated that he still intended to appoint someone, but that Donald Trump had not yet been sworn in and that negotiations had not started anyway. .
Mr. Legault had not yet made a public outing since the New Year.
Present in Washington on Thursday to attend the state funeral of former United States President Jimmy Carter, he will meet American business leaders.
