Trudeau, cabinet to face fresh questions about Trump's major Canadian tariff threat
CTV
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of his cabinet are expected to face fresh questions today about Donald Trump vowing to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico on his first day in office, if border issues aren’t addressed.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of his cabinet are expected to face fresh questions today about Donald Trump vowing to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico on his first day in office, if border issues aren’t addressed.
According to a senior government source, Trudeau and Trump spoke on Monday night after the news broke.
The official described the conversation as "good," and said on the call trade and border security were discussed, with Trudeau noting that the number of migrants who cross from Canada to the U.S. is far smaller than those who come through Mexico.
The two men vowed to stay in touch, the source said.
In a longer statement issued Monday night the chairs of the recently-revived Canada-U.S. relations cabinet committee, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, said that Canada "places the highest priority on border security and the integrity of our shared border."
The pair also noted that Canada is "essential" to U.S. energy supply, saying last year 60 per cent of crude oil imports came from Canada, and touting work already underway to "disrupt the scourge of the fentanyl coming from China and other countries."
Trudeau re-formed the special cabinet committee in response to Trump's win and it has been meeting for a few weeks to navigate top issues as flagged by the incoming administration, such as trade and the border.
