After Trump’s tariff threat, Trudeau set to meet with premiers

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is acceptable to conscionable with the country’s premiers Wednesday afternoon, aft they asked for an urgent gathering connected U.S.-Canada relations up of the incoming Donald Trump administration.

That petition came Monday, earlier the U.S. president-elect threatened to enforce a 25-per-cent import tariff connected goods coming from Canada and Mexico.

Trudeau and the premiers volition clasp a virtual gathering astatine 5 p.m. connected Wednesday.

Trump said successful a societal media station Monday nighttime that helium would support the tariffs successful spot until Canada and Mexico halt amerciable borderline crossings and forestall drugs specified arsenic fentanyl from entering the U.S.

The House of Commons held an exigency statement connected the menace Tuesday night, pursuing a petition by the NDP and the Conservatives.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said during the statement that Canada is the largest export marketplace for the United States, and that includes essentials specified arsenic oil, energy and captious minerals.

“Canada is indispensable to the United States’ home vigor supply,” she said.

Freeland added instrumentality enforcement and borderline agencies from some countries are moving to disrupt fentanyl coming from countries specified arsenic China.

“Canada is perfectly committed to moving with our American neighbours to guarantee that their bluish borderline is afloat secured,” she said.

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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Trudeau should person been amended prepared.

“President Trump had been saying that helium would bash this. He was elected 3 weeks ago. You’d deliberation the premier curate would person been furiously planning, preparing, gathering with the premiers and talking astir a antagonistic program during that time,” helium said.

“And present we larn that since the menace happened, he’s travel up with precisely 1 response, a Zoom call.”

Poilievre said Canada needs a “real plan.”

NDP MP Blake Desjarlais called for Canada to diversify its commercialized distant from the United States.

He said Canada needs to amusement the U.S. and Trump “that our industries are not conscionable the champion industries and nutrient the champion quality, but they are besides desired elsewhere,” specified arsenic successful Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.