Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that Canada is ready to offer a “determined but reasonable, immediate” response “if the president of the United States, Donald Trump, imposes tariffs on Canadian imports.
During an event in Toronto on Friday, Trudeau said that “it is not what we want, but if you advance, we will also act.”
Their comments occur when three federal cabinet ministers are in Washington making a final attempt to prevent Trump from slapping 25 percent of Canadian import rates as soon as Saturday.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Melanie Joly, the Minister of Public Security, David McGuinty, and the Minister of Imigration, Marc Miller, are in the capital of the United States making a final diplomatic impulse to convince Republican legislators and the team of Trump to influence the president.
If the president of the United States, Donald Trump, chooses to implement tariffs in Canada, the country is ready to respond immediately, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday while offering comments at a meeting of the Council of Relations of Canada-United States. Trudeau said that it is not what Canada wants, but the country is ready for any scenario.
Initially, Trump said that his tariff threat was in response to the failure of Canada and Mexico to stop the illegal flow of people and drugs through the border.
Trudeau tried to reassure the Canadians today, while recognizing that Canada “could face difficult times in the next few days and weeks.”
“I will not sweeten it,” he said.
Trudeau said he knows that Canadians “could be anxious and worried, but I want them to know that the federal government, and in fact all government orders, are supported.”
The Minister of Finance, Dominic Leblanc, published a video on Thursday that describes the border security efforts of Canada for the Trump candidate for the Secretary of Commerce.
On Friday, Trudeau said that Canada has responded to Trump’s concerns with a border security plan of $ 1.3 billion.
“In fact, the first patrol helicopters began monitoring the border earlier this week, and new canine equipment is being deployed, together with image tools, to detect and stop the fentanyl flow,” he said.
He pointed out that less than one percent of fentanyl and illegal crosses in the United States come from Canada.
