Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien says US President-elect Donald Trump is likely to back down on his threat to punish tariffs and the resulting trade war with Canada, because Americans are too reliant on a number of Canadian exports, namely in the energy sector.
“Apparently he said this morning that he doesn’t need our electricity. That’s fine,” Chrétien said in an exclusive interview with CTV Question Period, broadcast Sunday. “If he wants us to turn off the electricity, he would have to go up to Trump Tower with candles to go to his office, because New York state relies heavily on electricity from Canada.”
“So it’s not realistic,” Chrétien also told host Vassy Kapelos.
Trump has threatened to impose blanket 25 percent tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico. While Trump initially noted that the problem at hand was the flow of illegal drugs and migrants across the border, the incoming president has lately defended the tariffs on their own merits, despite the impact they would have on the U.S. economy.
In response, Ontario Premier Doug Ford previously threatened to cut off his province’s electricity to 1.5 million homes in New York, Michigan and Minnesota as a “last resort” if Trump follows through on this threat. But last week, Ford took a more collaborative tone, launching an energy plan called “Fortress Am-Can” that would build on and leverage Ontario’s existing nuclear infrastructure to deliver more power south of the border.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, Quebec Premier Francois Legault and Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey have all said they oppose cutting energy exports as a retaliatory measure.
Chrétien, who was Canada’s 20th prime minister from 1993 to 2003, said trade negotiations and other bilateral issues have occurred, and always will occur, with the country’s closest neighbor and ally.
“You know, (Trump) loves to be on the news, and the news gives him a lot of space,” he said. “But the reality is, in my opinion, it doesn’t keep me up at night, because they will probably suffer a lot more than us if we have that kind of war.”
CTV News confirmed this week that Canadian officials are narrowing down a list of American products to target in case the federal government imposes retaliatory tariffs in response to Trump.
According to sources, these are American steel and ceramic products, including toilets and sinks, as well as Florida orange juice.
Chrétien told Kapelos that Canada is in “a better position” because of the nature of many of its exports to the United States.
“We can get orange juice and many products from other nations, but electricity doesn’t come by truck or pipeline,” he said. “And the type of oil that they buy in Alberta, if they don’t buy it in Alberta, they will have to buy it in Venezuela, because it is a special type of oil that they buy mainly from us and they can’t replace it with something.” others.”
Chrétien does not take State 51’s comments “seriously”
Meanwhile, the incoming commander in chief has ramped up the rhetoric even further in recent weeks, doubling down on his alleged joke of annexing Canada and making it the 51st state of the United States and threatening to use what he called “economic force.” for this to happen.
In an interview on CNN this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Trump of using the point to distract from the conversation about the tariffs and their potential impact on both countries’ economies.
Chrétien, for his part, is not worried.
“I don’t take it seriously because I don’t think it will happen,” Chrétien said. “It is not in the interest of the United States not to have a good neighbor like Canada to the north.”
“And Mr. Trump doesn’t realize that if Canada had been part of the United States a few weeks ago, he would never have been president, because Canadians would not have voted for him,” he added.
The former prime minister said: “Canadians love our values,” noting that we are a “generous and tolerant society.”
Asked how he thinks Canadian officials are doing in dealing with threats imposed by Trump, Chrétien said so far so good, citing several appearances by Trudeau and Ford on American television networks as examples.
In his interview, Chrétien also discussed Trudeau’s decision to resign this week and weighed in on potential contenders in the race to replace the embattled prime minister and Liberal leader.
Chrétien also said the Liberals need to return to the “radical center” to improve their electoral fortunes.
You can watch the exclusive interview with former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien on Question Period this Sunday at 11ET/8PT on CTV.
With files from Stephanie Ha and Mike Le Couteur of CTV News
