Transcript - Remarks following the First Ministers’ Meeting on Canada-U.S. relations
Remarks following the First Ministers’ Meeting on Canada-U.S. relations
I would like to thank Premier Doug Ford and all the premiers who have joined me today to discuss this critical issue of the importance of being united in defending Canada, in defending our sovereignty in the face of the tariffs being threatened by the incoming administration in Washington.
Coming out of this highly productive meeting, we have a shared sense of purpose, a shared sense of understanding and a commitment to stand together on a united path forward. Because there’s no sugarcoating it, the incoming administration’s proposed tariffs against Canada would harm Americans. They would put American jobs at risk. They would put our collective security at risk. They would raise costs at a time when people simply need, simply deserve a break. And perhaps most crucially, they’re not necessary. Our trading relationship is the envy of the world, and the better path forward is to make it stronger.
During the first Trump administration, we negotiated together a new trade agreement, more jobs, more wealth, more opportunity on both sides of the border. It’s also a clear win-win of monumental proportions. Today, Canadian electricity powers millions of American homes and businesses each year. Over 4 million barrels of oil are shipped daily to refineries specifically made for Canadian crude, creating good jobs for Canadians and Americans alike.
Notably, if tariffs are applied to Canadian oil, U.S. gas prices could increase by up to $0.75 per gallon. And we supply the United States annually with $84 billion worth of minerals used to support the U.S. defence, automotive and agricultural industries that would otherwise be sourced from places like Russia or China. The approach we want is to build on these strengths. We want to help each other in our time of need, as our brave firefighters are doing in California right now, and as Americans have done in the past when we faced our own national natural disasters.
We all agree that we need to work together to defend the relationship between Canada and the United States, which has created so much prosperity for our two countries.
I’ve spoken to the president-elect numerous times since the summer. I was the first G7 leader to sit down with Mr. Trump after the election to discuss some of the concerns he’s raised, and we’ve stepped up by allocating over a billion dollars to further enhance the security of our shared border and clamp down on the illicit drug trade and human trafficking. With all that said, if the U.S. administration chooses to still implement tariffs, we will respond purposefully, forcefully and resolutely.
We will not stand by and do nothing. We will show what business owners, workers, and economists on both sides of the border know very well: that there are no winners in a trade war.
Canadians do not deserve tariffs, and I believe Americans should not want tariffs, either. We love this country; Canadians love this country. And I, and we, as First Ministers, will never stop defending Canada from anyone who wants to harm it. Canada is a welcoming, inclusive, innovative and ambitious place. It is home to bountiful resources, breathtaking beauty and a proud people who’ve come from every corner of the globe to forge a Nation with a unique identity worth embracing and celebrating, and worth fighting for.
We have our own identity, our own history, and our own values. We are also the only member of La Francophonie on a continent with hundreds of millions of English speakers, and with that comes a whole history and a distinct culture that we will always protect.
Now, no country is perfect, but I do believe that Canada is the best country on earth, and there’s nowhere that I, or the vast majority of our 41 million strong family would rather be. And that’s why I gathered us all here today, the federal government, provinces and territories alike, working with businesses, labour and civil society to stand up for Canada.
Thank you all for being here. I thank the premiers for being here especially.