Canadians overwhelmingly support retaliation to Trump tariffs: poll

An overwhelming majority  of Canadians deliberation their state should combat occurrence with occurrence if Donald Trump carries done connected his menace to enforce a sweeping 25 per cent tariff connected Canadian goods and services sold into the U.S. market.

A caller canvass from Ipsos provided exclusively to Global News, recovered that 82 per cent of respondents hold with the connection that, should Trump tariff Canadian goods, Canada should retaliate by slapping tariffs connected American imports into Canada.

Late Monday, during a rambling quality league from the Oval Office successful the White House, Trump said helium was acceptable to enactment a tariff — oregon import taxation — of 25 per cent connected Canadian goods connected February 1. He did not motion immoderate enforcement orders Monday to  instrumentality that determination but, during his inauguration speech, helium did accidental that helium would marque America affluent by imposing much taxes connected foreigners.

“Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich different countries, we volition tariff and taxation overseas countries to enrich our citizens,” Trump said.

Trump’s late-night comments prompted an contiguous effect from the Trudeau government.

“None of this should beryllium surprising. The 1 happening we’ve learned is that President Trump, astatine moments, tin beryllium unpredictable,” concern curate Dominic LeBlanc told reporters successful Montebello, Que. wherever the Trudeau furniture is successful the midst of a two-day retreat connected Canada-US relations.

“We person spent the past fig of weeks preparing imaginable effect scenarios for the Government of Canada successful concern with provinces and Canadian concern leaders and national leaders. So our state is perfectly acceptable to respond to immoderate 1 of these scenarios.”

In a impermanent file published Monday greeting successful The Washington Post, erstwhile concern curate and Liberal enactment contender  Chrystia Freeland warned Americans that Canada would deed backmost connected Trump’s tariffs.

“The threats won’t work. We volition not escalate, but we volition not backmost down,” Freeland wrote. “If you deed us, we volition deed backmost — and our blows volition beryllium precisely targeted. We are smaller than you, to beryllium sure, but the stakes for america are immeasurably higher. Do not uncertainty our resolve.

Opposition person Pierre Poilievre has besides said helium would retaliate.

“I would accidental to President Trump, I volition retaliate with commercialized tariffs against American goods that are indispensable to discourage America attacking our industries,” Poilievre said during an interrogation past week with CHEK News. ” I’d alternatively we enactment together, though, due to the fact that if we do, we tin person a bigger, stronger economy.”

The Trudeau government, with the enactment of each of the country’s premiers but Alberta’s Danielle Smith, has said that each options are connected the array erstwhile it comes to responding to immoderate tariff menace from the United States — including a imaginable export taxation connected Canadian vigor products, specified arsenic lipid and gas.

Ipsos recovered that astir Canadians disagree with Smith. When asked if Smith was close to importune that Canadian lipid and state exports beryllium exempt from immoderate Canadian effect to Trump’s tariffs, 55 per cent of responsive disagreed with her portion 45 per cent agreed.

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Smith is successful Washington, successful the midst of a five-day sojourn wherever she has been gathering with U.S. governmental and concern leaders. She is to talk to Canadian reporters aboriginal Tuesday morning.

Poilievre refused to accidental past week when  asked by reporters 3 times past week if lipid and state exports should beryllium portion of Canada’s effect to Trump’s tariffs.

Andrew Furey, the premier of the oil-producing state of Newfoundland and Labrador, told reporters past week astatine the First Ministers gathering successful Ottawa that Trump should cognize that Canadian vigor products whitethorn origin into a Canada-US commercialized war.

“I spot vigor arsenic Canada’s queen successful this crippled of chess,” Furey said. “We don’t request to exposure our queen excessively early. And the absorption does request to cognize that the queen exists. But they don’t request to cognize what we’re going to bash with the queen.”

About 25 per cent of the lipid America consumes comes from Canada.

And yet, contempt Trump’s connection Monday nighttime that helium was acceptable to bring successful a wide tariff of 25 per cent connected Canadian goods by Feb. 1, astir Canadians simply don’t judge he’ll travel through. Of those polled by Ipsos, 55 per cent said they believed Trump’s menace was conscionable a bluff to get Canada to enactment rapidly connected different issues specified arsenic beefing up borderline information and spending much connected defence.

Ipsos polled 1,001 Canadians from Jan 17-20 utilizing an online survey. The creation of the survey colonisation was weighted to bespeak Canada’s demographic makeup. Because it was an online survey, though, a margin-of-error cannot beryllium calculated.

But Canadians besides don’t judge the Trudeau authorities has a mandate to woody with Trump’s threats: 77 per cent of those surveyed said an contiguous wide predetermination is required to springiness the victor of that predetermination the mandate required to negociate with the Americans.

With each 3 absorption parties acceptable to ballot non-confidence successful the Trudeau authorities upon Parliament’s instrumentality connected March 24, an predetermination is astir definite by precocious April oregon May.