Canada’s ambassador to the US says it’s a good sign that US President-elect Donald Trump feels “comfortable” joking with Canadian officials, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Prime Minister Trudeau made a surprise visit to Mar-a-Lago on Friday with a small Canadian delegation and met with President Trump. The visit comes just days after the president-elect threatened to impose a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico until border states stem the flow of illegal drugs and migrants crossing the border. It was done.
During a meeting in Florida, President Trump joked that Canada should become the 51st state if tariffs weaken Canada’s economy, as the prime minister has said, according to Fox News. flew.
Canadian politicians on Tuesday fired back at the comments, calling them light teasing.
Trump later posted a seemingly artificially generated image of himself standing on a mountaintop overlooking the Canadian wilderness with a large Canadian flag next to him, with the caption: “Oh, Canada!”
Kirsten Hillman said in an interview Tuesday on CTV News Channel’s Power Play that although she hadn’t seen the social media posts, the gathering in Florida had a “really happy, fun atmosphere.”
“(Trump) made jokes, and other people at the table made jokes,” said Hillman, who was part of the Canadian delegation to Mar-a-Lago. However, she did not sit at the same table as Trump and Trudeau during the three-day meeting. -time dinner. “People were joking, but I have to say it’s actually reassuring to me that people are that comfortable with each other and teasing each other.”
“Any good joke always hits a little nerve, and certainly President-elect Trump is someone who likes to hit a nerve,” Hillman told host Vassy Kapelos. “So what I would say to Canadians is, let’s focus on the work ahead of us and the work that has already begun under the Trump administration.”
Hillman also emphasized the importance of Trudeau’s visit to Florida to meet with President Trump within days of the initial tariff threat.
“Let’s focus our attention where it needs to be, and that’s not on the fact that the president (the president-elect) is enjoying this moment of banter, but on the fact that this conversation is serious and ongoing. It’s about importance,” she said.
Can Canada avoid tariffs?
After Friday’s meeting, two senior government officials told CTV News that while tariffs are unavoidable in the near term, long-term solutions are being considered, especially once border security is ensured. This was reported to the delegation.
Asked if he believed those around President Trump were aware of the impact tariffs would have on both the Canadian and U.S. economies, Hillman said: “I am deeply convinced.” Ta.
According to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, President Trump’s threat of across-the-board 10% tariffs would have a total economic impact on the country of about $30 billion a year.
University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe wrote on social media last week that adjusting the 25% tariff would hurt Canada’s economy by about 2.6% per year in real GDP, costing Canadians about $2,000 per person. I wrote that it would happen.
Hillman said Canada’s retaliatory tariffs during President Trump’s first term were “very difficult for the United States.”
“But I think we have to remember that he is someone who believes in tariffs as an economic policy tool,” she added. “Therefore, our mandate is that whether we believe that economic policy measure is good for the United States or not, we believe that applying it to Canada would harm Americans compared to other partner countries. To prove to him that you can.”
Asked if he thought Canada could avoid these tariffs, Mr. Hillman said he hoped so.
“I think that’s the quid pro quo offered in that (first social media) post,” the ambassador said. “That’s what we’re working on with them, and that was the essence of the conversation at Mar-a-Lago.”
Hillman also said it’s a “huge opportunity” for Canada to work with Americans on shared border concerns.
“I think one thing that everyone can recognize is that it’s very difficult to judge in advance what President-elect Trump will do in the future.”
Asked if and when Canada would impose counter-tariffs, Hillman said: “We’re not there yet.”
He added that Canada needs to be prepared to take retaliatory measures, but hopes that doesn’t happen.
In 2018, during Trump’s first term as president, he triggered a nearly year-long trade war with Canada after imposing 25% tariffs on Canadian steel products and 10% tariffs on Canadian aluminum. In response, Canada announced countervailing duties of 25% on a long list of U.S. steel and aluminum products, as well as an additional 10% tax on U.S. miscellaneous goods including coffee, prepared foods, and maple syrup. did. These retaliatory tariffs were finally lifted in 2019 after Canada, the United States, and Mexico reached an agreement.
In August 2020, President Trump announced plans to impose a 10% tariff on Canadian aluminum. Freeland said in a statement at the time that “Canada intends to move swiftly to implement dollar-for-dollar countermeasures,” but President Trump suspended them a month later. These tariffs were discussed as the presidential election approached later that year. Trump went on to lose that election to Joe Biden.
You can watch Hillman’s full interview in the video player at the top of this article.
