Vancouver, British Columbia – On Sunday, outgoing Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, responded to President-elect Donald Trump’s remarks about Canada becoming the “51st state” of the United States. Trudeau suggested that Trump’s comments were distracting people from the real issue – the impact of Trump’s threat to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian imports, which could hurt U.S. consumers.
Trump has warned that he might apply the 25% tariffs on all imports from Canada, including steel and aluminum. In an interview with MSNBC, Trudeau said, “No American wants to pay 25% more for electricity or oil and gas coming in from Canada. That’s something I think people need to pay a little more attention to.”
Trudeau explained that the talk about Canada becoming part of the U.S. was taking attention away from the potential economic harm that tariffs would cause. Trump, in turn, suggested that if Canada were to merge with the U.S., taxes would be lowered, and there would be no tariffs.
Trudeau pointed out that Trump likes to keep people guessing by making bold statements. He also commented on Trump’s incorrect claim about the U.S. trade deficit with Canada, saying that Canada actually provides valuable resources like oil to the U.S.
If Trump moves forward with his tariff plans, Canadian officials have said they would retaliate by imposing tariffs on U.S. products, such as orange juice, steel, and toilets. This would be similar to the actions taken during Trump’s first term when Canada responded to tariffs on its steel and aluminum with its own tariffs on American goods like bourbon and Harley Davidson motorcycles.
Trudeau noted that Trump’s policies are likely to hurt American workers, who would face higher prices due to the tariffs. He also reminded people that Canada is an important supplier of oil to the U.S., with Alberta sending 4.3 million barrels of oil per day to the U.S. – about a quarter of the U.S.’s daily oil consumption.
The U.S. is Canada’s top export market, with $2.7 billion worth of goods crossing the border each day. In addition, Trump has said that he would reconsider the tariffs if Canada improved security at its border with the U.S., which he sees as a potential route for illegal immigrants. Trudeau disagreed, stating that only a small percentage of illegal immigrants or fentanyl cross into the U.S. from Canada.
After meeting with Trump in November, Trudeau announced that Canada would increase its spending on border security in hopes of resolving the issue and preventing the tariff threat. Despite these efforts, Trudeau recently announced he would resign as Prime Minister and be replaced by a new leader in March.
