Canadian cabinet ministers say the economic threats that U.S. president-elect Donald Trump is making are “real” and are being taken “very seriously.”
On Tuesday, Trump told reporters he was not backing down on tariffs, which he initially tied to demands for increased border security from both Canada and Mexico, saying “millions of people” were pouring into the U.S. and claiming drugs were coming through “at record numbers.”
“We’re going to make up for that by putting tariffs on Mexico and Canada, substantial tariffs,” Trump said.
The president-elect was asked whether he would use military force to “annex and acquire” Canada and responded: “No, economic force.”
That followed previous comments about making Canada a U.S. state.
Asked by reporters on Wednesday as they headed into a Liberal caucus meeting about Trump’s latest comments, multiple Canadian cabinet ministers said they believe his economic threats are “real.”
“We are taking it seriously and we will respond seriously as well,” International Trade Minister Mary Ng said. “We have to be concerned when tariffs and punishing tariffs are going to hurt the Canadian economy. You’ve seen us stand up for Canadian businesses all the time; we’ve never wavered from doing that, (and) we’ll not do that this time.”
Ng went on to say it’s not only Canadian jobs that would be harmed by tariffs, as Canada is a “top customer” for the U.S.
Canada and the U.S. are each other’s top trading partners, with more than $3.6 billion worth of goods and services crossing the border daily. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office says the U.S. trade deficit with Canada — which is different from a subsidy — was US$53.5 billion in 2022.
The most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau also showed that in just November 2024, Canada made up 16.3 per cent of the U.S. total exports, with Mexico behind it at 15.4 per cent. The next closest country was China, with 7.3 per cent of total exports.
Despite this, Trump has suggested he would impose tariffs of up to 25 per cent on goods coming in from Canada and Mexico, without specifying if there were any products that wouldn’t be impacted.
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In recent weeks, the federal government has not shared details of any potential retaliation, like tariffs of its own, instead re-forming a Canada-U.S. relations parliamentary committee and making various announcements on funding to address Trump’s concerns on border security.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, who has been facing questions about a potential Liberal leadership run, said being able to defend Canada’s interests is a key focus for her in the context of the incoming U.S. administration.
“This is something that not only I’m very concerned about but we have to be extremely ready because the threat of tariffs is real,” Joly said. “I think when president-elect Trump talks, we need to listen and we need to take him very seriously. I never take his threats lightly. At the same time, we can’t take the bait and I think we’re also extremely strong as a country.”
Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc also weighed in on Wednesday, following a post on X stating he would not enter the Liberal leadership race, saying he was not running because he wanted to be solely focused on the threat of tariffs.
“I will be solely focused on the real economic threat that American tariffs represent to the Canadian economy and to Canadian workers,” LeBlanc told reporters. “It’s a full-time job and I’m lucky to have it.”
Trump has stated multiple times that the U.S. “subsidizes” Canada with US$200 billion in trade and spends billions more on continental defence programs like NORAD in Canada, which he said “don’t essentially have a military.”
He has also said the U.S. does not need the various Canadian products it imports, such as lumber and dairy.
Trump added that because of the money he claims the U.S. spends on Canada, “they should be a state,” a suggestion he’s made several times before. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh all slammed the idea, saying it would never happen.
—with files from Global News’ Sean Boynton
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