Tragic: Ontario chief spearheads Canadian opposition to Trump's tariff proposal

Canada is one of the nations impacted by US President-elect Donald Trump's vow to impose import taxes on the US's top three trading partners.

In addition to targeting China and Mexico, he has pledged to put a 25% tariff on any goods coming from America's northern neighbour. He characterized it as an effort to combat drug smuggling into the United States and illegal migration.

Among those who denounced the action as "devastating" was Doug Ford, the head of the province of Ontario. Canada's official response has been more subdued. According to CBC, there have been numerous late-night phone conversations between Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as well as between the PM and provincial leaders.

Regarding the Trudeau-Trump talk, a Canadian source told Reuters, "It was a good discussion and they will stay in touch. " In a public statement, Canadian ministers underlined their work on the shared border - on which they claimed they placed the "highest priority".

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland also used their remarks to emphasize the value of the US-Canada trade connection, pointing out that 60% of US crude oil imports last year came from China.

According to US data, Canada was the biggest market for American exports in 2022 and accounted for around US$437 billion (£347 billion) in US imports. Trump announced Monday that he would sign the 25% tariff on Canadian goods as soon as he assumed office on January 20, 2025.

He explained the action as an attempt to pressure the three other nations to crack down on the unlawful flow of people and drugs, particularly fentanyl, to the United States.

"Devastating to workers and jobs in both Canada and the US" is how Ford, the premier of Canada's most populous province, described the planned tariff. He urged Trudeau to "call an urgent meeting with all premiers" and urged the government to "take the situation at our border seriously".

The leaders of British Columbia and Quebec agreed with Ford, and Alberta leader Daniella Smith confirmed this in a post on her X account.

Calm was called by other voices. In a statement obtained by CBC, the head of Canada's Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association (APMA) stated, "We've gamed out the possibilities that he lumps Canada and Mexico issues together, we've been there before." "We are prepared and connected."

The man who was chosen to be the US president-elect's new Treasury secretary has previously said that tariff hikes, which Trump bragged about during the race, could be a bargaining tactic.

In an interview with the Financial Times before Trump's nomination, Scott Bessent stated, "My general view is that at the end of the day, he's a free trader." "The goal is to de-escalate, not escalate."

The northern frontier has been described as an "extreme national security vulnerability" by Trump's new border tsar, Tom Homan. He has claimed that individuals from nations thought to support terrorism are using Canada as a route to enter the US.

The number of illegal crossings from Mexico, another nation that Trump's proposed tariffs target much outnumbers those from the United States to Canada. However, there seems to have been a spike.

More than 19,000 people from 97 different countries were arrested in the past 12 months, more than "the last 17 fiscal years combined," according to Robert Garcia, a border official representing the northeastern United States, who made the statement last month.