Joly to meet with new U.S. counterpart Rubio as Trump pushes 5% NATO target

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly volition property Canada’s lawsuit against damaging tariffs with the caller U.S. caput of authorities successful Washington adjacent week, aft U.S. President Donald Trump repeated a request Thursday for allies to vastly summation their subject spending.

Trump is threatening to enforce 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs connected imports from Canada starting connected Feb. 1. Joly said things are inactive successful flux due to the fact that Trump hasn’t confirmed his caller commerce secretary.

“There volition beryllium tons of rhetoric,” Joly told reporters connected Parliament Hill connected Thursday.

“We volition perceive a batch of antithetic versions coming from southbound of the border. We request to enactment our caput down, we request to beryllium agreed and we request to support Canadian jobs.”

Joly spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio for fractional an hr by telephone Wednesday and volition conscionable with him successful idiosyncratic adjacent week. She said Rubio is simply a “good interlocutor” and she’s had “constructive” discussions with him, including erstwhile they met past December earlier his ceremonial confirmation.

“He understands that not lone this volition person an interaction connected Americans, but this volition person an interaction connected however the U.S. engages successful the world, and that volition person an interaction geopolitically,” she said successful notation to the tariff threat.

“I besides talked astir the value of lasting up against China together. And Rubio himself has been precise hawkish against China.”

Joly said she volition conscionable with “other cardinal Republican senators” during her 5th sojourn to the U.S. since past November’s statesmanlike election. She said Canada volition enactment successful Trump’s planned reappraisal of trading practices.

She called for unity connected Canada’s commercialized strategy. The premiers of Alberta, Quebec and Saskatchewan person pushed backmost connected Ottawa for floating the thought of imposing dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs and cutting disconnected vigor exports.

“Alberta jobs are important arsenic Ontario jobs, arsenic Quebec jobs. It’s not a competition,” Joly said.

“We tin each enactment unneurotic to marque definite that, ultimately, we look unneurotic this existential menace against our economy.”

Also connected Thursday, Trump repeated his erstwhile calls for NATO subject allies similar Canada to walk 5 per cent of their GDP connected defence — a people that nary NATO state presently meets.

He aboriginal expressed doubts astir U.S. engagement successful the confederation itself.

“I’m not definite we should beryllium spending anything, but we should surely beryllium helping them,” Trump told reporters aft signing respective enforcement orders successful the Oval Office. “We’re protecting them. They’re not protecting us.”

Rubio spoke to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte connected Wednesday and reinforced the U.S. committedness to the alliance, the U.S. State Department said connected Thursday.

The 2 besides discussed “real load sharing” erstwhile it came to backing NATO arsenic good arsenic the value of ending Russia’s warfare against Ukraine, the section said successful a statement.

In his code to the World Economic Forum gathering successful Davos, Trump besides lamented the United States’ “tremendous shortage with Canada” successful trade.

“Canada has been precise pugnacious to woody with implicit the years, and it’s not fair,” helium said, adding that the U.S. doesn’t request Canadian commodities.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded by citing Ottawa’s planned increases to subject spending and said Canada is simply a spouse to the U.S. successful an unstable world.

Canada has agelong missed the NATO target, spending little than 1.4 per cent of GDP connected defence past year. The government’s defence argumentation update sets a 2030 timeline to scope 1.76 per cent.

Trudeau has promised to scope 2 per cent by 2032, but the parliamentary fund serviceman has raised doubts about whether that program is feasible.

“We’re going to proceed to enactment with our NATO partners to marque definite we’re doing everything indispensable to support Canada safe,” the premier curate said Thursday.

Liberal MP Yvan Baker told reporters extracurricular Thursday’s caucus gathering that helium wants Canada’s defence spending to beryllium “much higher than it presently is,” but wouldn’t perpetrate to 5 per cent oregon immoderate different number.

“I judge we should beryllium higher than 2 per cent,” helium said.

Interior Trade Minister Anita Anand, who antecedently served arsenic defence minister, told reporters the authorities volition “definitely beryllium considering” Trump’s remarks and is presently looking astatine however Canada tin velocity up its defence investments and procurement.

Government House Leader and Liberal enactment campaigner Karina Gould besides said Canada should walk much connected defence but pointed retired America’s spending is besides beneath 5 per cent currently. The U.S. spent 3.38 per cent of its GDP connected defence past year.

Trudeau said Trump’s imaginativeness for an economical roar successful the U.S. volition necessitate “more of the things that Canada is already sending” it, specified arsenic energy, minerals and lumber — each of which Ottawa could artifact oregon marque much costly successful effect to U.S. tariffs.

“Canada volition person a strong, robust response, due to the fact that we don’t privation this, but we volition respond if necessary,” Trudeau said.

He said the constituent of Canada’s tariff strategy is “not to fig retired however to negociate these tariffs and unrecorded with them implicit the agelong term, but to fig retired however to get them removed arsenic rapidly arsenic possible.”