Border city mayor says Canada-U.S. relationship is 'deteriorating' under Trump's tariff threats
CBC
The mayor of a Canadian border city says the prime minister and premiers should speak to communities like his about frustration with the United States that is bubbling up over president-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs and comments about absorbing Canada.
"[The relationship] is deteriorating and people are saying they're not going to cross the border," said Mike Bradley, the mayor of Sarnia, Ont., which has a border crossing with Port Huron, Mich.
"I'm hearing it on a constant basis: 'We don't want to do that anymore because we're being disrespected."
On Tuesday, Trump told a news conference he's looking to use "economic force" to "get rid" of the border between the two countries. His threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods still looms large — and Ottawa is looking at options to retaliate.
Bradley described Trump's comments as "vexatious drivel" but said the Republican Party's control of the House of Representatives and the Senate gives the president-elect extra sway.
"This time it's different. He is empowered," Bradley said in an interview on Rosemary Barton Live. "He has his followers all in positions of power."
The Sarnia mayor said he expects the tariffs to happen, which he said would affect his community.
According to new data from Statistics Canada, 15.4 per cent of jobs in the Windsor-Sarnia economic region are at risk amid Trump's tariff threats.
"Yes, there will be collateral damage in the United States," Bradley told host Rosemary Barton, but he argued Trump will blame other factors if his proposed tariffs affect Americans.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with provincial and territorial premiers in Ottawa to discuss Canada-U.S. relations.
Bradley said those politicians should be speaking to border community mayors like him who are "on the front line. Talk to us. We understand the complexity of the relationship and know the American and Canadian people have always got along," he said.
"We need to get our game better and we need to stop the partisan politics and focus on what's best for Canadians…. What is happening in Ottawa, for all different reasons, is creating a lot of uncertainty for us trying to strategize how to deal with the Americans."
In an interview on Rosemary Barton Live, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Canada has a plan that includes engaging with American officials on their concerns about the Canada-U.S. border and military spending.
"At the same time, we're working on a retaliation plan," Joly said. She declined to provide details but said "everything is on the table."
A growing number of Manitoba's MRI machines now use artificial intelligence, with a plan to have more than half using the technology by spring.
A mobile unit the Saskatchewan government bought in 2002 for providing mammograms to Saskatchewan women will soon retire.
The Prince Edward Island government is rolling out the province’s first-ever policing standards, which officials say will make police services more consistent, transparent and better supported.
Residents in Niagara Falls, Ont., continue to wait for news on the future of Marineland’s property and dozens of animals, including up to 30 belugas and four dolphins — nearly two months after the federal government turned down the theme park's request to export the mammals.
Canadian travellers hoping for a new year without having to worry about a labour dispute may be out of luck, as 2026 will see most major airlines from this country facing off with unions across the bargaining table.
Food prices are soaring. Food prices keep climbing. Food prices are defying cooling inflation.
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
Ontario legislation that mandated air conditioning in all resident rooms in long-term care (LTC) homes has saved dozens of lives, according to a new study.
Gusty winds, rapid fall in temperature prompt special weather statement for Waterloo region and area
The mid-week warmup in Waterloo region, Guelph and area will abruptly come to an end on Friday, Environment and Climate Change Canada warns.
Water in two more schools in the N.W.T. show lead levels above Health Canada's guidelines for drinking water, according to the territorial government.
Ontario's ethics watchdog says it will investigate whether the province's labour minister contravened any laws in his handling of a controversial training fund.
Mitchell Rose, the 32-year-old man charged with three counts of attempted murder in St. John’s, will spend the next month on the forensic unit of a psychiatric hospital.
Nearly eight years after Halifax sold the historic Khyber building in the hopes it could be revived, the municipality says the site has become a “threat to safety” — and is taking it back.