Canada’s premiers 'remain united' on tariffs fight amidst Ottawa uncertainty

There was no getting away from Monday’s extraordinary political developments on Parliament Hill, but Canada’s premiers tried to steer attention back to Donald Trump’s threat of a 25 per cent tariff on all goods.

The premiers met in Toronto to discuss their response to the U.S. president-elect, but were sidelined by questions about Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland’s resignation and how it may impact stateside negotiations.

“We didn’t spend a great deal of time talking about Chrystia Freeland at our table this morning,” said Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King at a Toronto news conference featuring the premiers. “We did talk a lot about border security.”

King – who was one of several premiers at the table who thanked Freeland for her service – said there were other provincial and federal officials also leading the file.

“There’s a stability, there’s a consistency to us that we need to lean into here,” said King. “And that’s what will serve us the best as we negotiate our way through this most current situation that we’re dealing with in the United States.”

Trump says tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods could begin as soon as he’s sworn in on Jan. 20, unless both countries satisfy his concerns about drugs and migrants at the border.

The premiers agreed that any response should include a commitment from Canada to meet its two per cent target on NATO defence funding. Plans were also announced for a premiers-led mission to Washington D.C. in February, to meet with members of the Trump’s new administration.

Meeting chair and Ontario Premier Doug Ford said regardless of Ottawa’s uncertainty, “all of us premiers will remain united as ‘Team Canada’ to provide steady and stable leadership during these uncertain times.”

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt met face-to-face with the premiers for the first time at the meeting and said she wanted to “reassure Canadians at what a collegial group of people this is.”

“I’ve been extremely impressed with the nature of the collaboration of the people around this table,” said Holt. “And reassured that Canadians are being extremely well served by their premiers, who are going to work together to defend Canadian interest and work with our partners in the U.S. to ensure our economy is well protected as well as our borders and our military.”