Poilievre lays out vision for Canada-U.S. relations, says no ‘permanent rupture’ between two countries

Pierre Poilievre says Canada needs to create more leverage in its negotiations with the United States, and argues that despite the ongoing trade war between the two countries, Canada should not substitute the U.S. with China.

In a speech focused on becoming “stronger at home” to increase leverage abroad, Poilievre laid out his vision for Canada-U.S. relations in a speech at the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto Thursday.

“Economic strength is national strength,” he said. “Energy security is national security. Self-reliance is sovereignty made real. And sovereignty is not declared, it is built — decisively, deliberately and without excuses.”

The trilateral trade agreement between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, known as CUSMA, is up for review this summer. American news outlets Bloomberg and The New York Times, however, are reporting U.S. President Donald Trump is mulling walking away from the deal entirely.

“We must divide the problem into what we control and what we do not control,” Poilievre said. “And most important of all, we cannot allow others to control us.”

“We must not allow President Trump to distract us from the work we need to do here at home,” he added, listing the need for low-cost energy, unblocking resources and homebuilding, a strong military, and digital sovereignty as elements of his plan to strengthen Canada’s leverage.