PM Trudeau and premiers meet virtually to discuss U.S.
Posted January 22, 2025 10:01 am.
Provincial and territorial premiers, along with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, will hold virtual talks on Wednesday, two days after Donald Trump returned to the U.S. presidency.
According to the official schedule of Quebec Premier François Legault, the meeting is set to take place at 11 a.m. and focus on relations between Canada and the United States.
Last week, Trudeau hosted provincial and territorial premiers in Ottawa to prepare Canada’s response to the tariffs that President Trump threatened — and still threatens — to impose.
At the end of this in-person meeting, the premiers signed a joint statement in which they committed to continue to “work together and defend the interests of Canadians in the face of the threat of unjustified and unreasonable customs duties from the United States.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith declined to sign the statement. On social media, she said her province opposes the idea of imposing tariffs on energy exports, or banning them altogether, in retaliation for U.S. tariffs.
In recent months, Trump has indicated that he plans to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican products exported to the United States on the first day of his presidency.
That threat ultimately didn’t come to fruition Monday, but it’s not a thing of the past. As he signed executive orders in the Oval Office Monday night, Trump confirmed that imposing 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico was still on his radar.
“I think we will do it on February 1st,” he said.
On Tuesday, while his cabinet was in retreat in Montebello, Outaouais, Trudeau agreed with the idea of responding, if necessary, with retaliatory measures equivalent, “dollar for dollar”, to the 25 per cent tariffs.
For his part, Legault promised that his government would protect Quebecers “at all costs” against customs tariffs. “No matter what Trump does, I want to tell Quebecers that we will protect you at all costs and we will get through this together,” he said.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
