Leaders of Canada's Conservative Party and the left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) on Tuesday accused the Liberal Party's Justin Trudeau of not taking seriously U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's threat to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian goods. They announced an unusually unanimous statement condemning the prime minister. .
Conservative Leader Pierre Poièvre told reporters Tuesday that Canada will enter economic negotiations with President Trump in a position of “unprecedented weakness” due to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's years of left-wing policies. He called on the prime minister to come up with a viable plan to stop this from happening. President Trump will not impose burdensome tariffs. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh encouraged Trudeau to “fight like hell” for Canadian workers and accused Trump of “hiding his head in the sand” over his comments. As of press time, Singh did not provide a detailed answer on how Trudeau should “combat” Trump.
The president-elect announced Tuesday that he would impose 25% tariffs on imports from both countries on his first day in office and would only remove them if Ottawa and Mexico City address mass immigration, prompting leaders of both Canada and Mexico to Alarmed. and drug trafficking.
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“On January 20th, in one of my first of many executive orders, I will impose a 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada on all products imported into the United States and their ridiculous opening of borders. I will sign all documents necessary to do so,” Trump wrote on social media. Media outlet Truth Social. “These tariffs will remain in effect until we stop drugs, especially fentanyl, and all illegal aliens from invading our country!”
“Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to simply resolve this long-smoldering issue. We hereby demand that they use this power, and that they Until they do, it's time for them to pay a very dear price!'' he concluded.
Mexico's leftist President Claudia Sheinbaum held a press conference on Tuesday in response to the message and showed reporters a letter she had sent to President-elect Trump. In it, Mr. Sheinbaum threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs and blamed the United States for being the root of the immigration and fentanyl problems. Prime Minister Trudeau, in contrast, said He said he felt he had a “good meeting” with Trump on Tuesday and discussed “some of the challenges that we can work on together.”
Prime Minister Trudeau's seemingly conciliatory tone has irritated both Canadian conservatives and the left.
“Yesterday, President Trump made an unwarranted threat to impose 25% tariffs on our already weak and shrinking economy,” Poièvre, the Conservative leader, said on Tuesday. “Justin Trudeau and [Deputy Prime Minister] Chrystia Freeland was amazingly surprised. President Trump had been talking about it for years during his campaign, so everyone else knew something like this could happen. ”
Poièvre suggested that to address President Trump's comments, Canada “must be honest about its unprecedented weakness” following years of Trudeau's policies.
“The United States is the world's largest economy, military power, and our neighbor. The United States is responsible for $1.2 trillion of our trade,” he said. “We trade with the United States almost twice as much as with the rest of the world combined.”
“You need a plan,” Poièvre continued. “It's a plan that puts Canada first in terms of economy and security.”
Poièvre's plan calls for Prime Minister Trudeau to “cancel all tax increases,” cut a proposed quadruple cut to Canada's “carbon tax,” and otherwise keep money in Canadians' pockets. It began with a call to strengthen the economy.
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He also called for policies to curb the fentanyl trade and other illegal drugs by reversing drug mitigation policies established by Prime Minister Trudeau and aggressively curbing drug trafficking. This would address one of the issues President Trump cited as a driver for tariffs on Canada.
Poièvre said he supports tariffs on U.S. products “if necessary.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh seemed similarly disappointed with Trudeau, but approached the issue from a different angle. Trump called him a “bully” and called Trudeau's lack of assertiveness a danger to Canada.
“Justin Trudeau, you can't bury your head in the sand,” Singh wrote on social media. “Stand up and fight like hell.”
Mr Singh in Parliament declared“The only thing a bully responds to is force,'' he asks, “Where's the plan to fight back?'' Why isn't the prime minister fighting like hell for Canadian jobs?'' Singh also asked Poièvre. Similarly, he indicated that he would support tariffs on the United States if necessary to respond to President Trump's policies.
Prime Minister Trudeau reportedly said, answered Mr. Singh said he was “in a panic” and suggested Mr. Singh “wants to go to war with the United States.”
In Quebec, Trudeau's Liberals lost previously “safe” seats in September, a political disaster for the party – Premier François Legault pressured Prime Minister Trudeau says he will “do everything” to stop President Trump from imposing tariffs.
