Canada in ‘stronger’ place in trade war despite U.S. tariff threat: Carney

The U.S. says the tariffs, to be applied Aug. 19, are in response to provincial bans on U.S. liquor, Canada's supply-managed dairy system and quotas on certain U.S. vehicles.

Canada is “in a stronger position” than it was in 18 months ago when the trade war began and Ottawa “will do whatever it takes” to support workers affected by U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened 50 per cent tariffs, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday.

Carney is in Prince Edward Island Thursday, where he is meeting with Canada’s premiers amid new tariff threats from the United States.

Trump’s impending tariffs are the latest in a “series of unilateral unwarranted trade actions,” Carney said in opening remarks ahead of his meeting with premiers.

“We’re clear Canadian governments around this table will do whatever it takes to defend and support our families our workers and our business,” Carney said.

Canada was also in a much stronger position than it was when the trade war began, he added.

“Let’s also be clear that we are in a stronger position than we were when this trade war started 18 months ago,” Carney said.

“We’re in a stronger position because of the determination of Canadians themselves and I will say this because of the focus of the premiers around this table,” he added.

The First Ministers Meeting comes just days after Trump signed orders to increase tariffs by 50 per cent on a variety of Canadian goods, ranging from hockey sticks to honey to cement.

More than 160 years ago, the Charlottetown Conference began the work of building this country.

Today, I’m meeting with the Premiers on P.E.I. to carry that work forward with the same ambition — to build a stronger, more united Canada for all.

The U.S. says the tariffs, to be applied Aug. 19, are in response to provincial bans on U.S. liquor, Canada’s supply-managed dairy system and quotas on certain U.S. vehicles.

The premiers say they’re united behind Carney and his negotiators as the federal government tries to de-escalate trade tensions and work on renewing the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement.

But the country’s 13 provincial and territorial leaders will also come to the table with their own requests for Ottawa to increase federal health care funding and accelerate approval for major projects.

The premiers’ face time with Carney comes at the end of a three-day conference in Charlottetown hosted by P.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz.