Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called for swift retaliation, significant countermeasures and a recall of Parliament in a news conference Sunday, two days ahead of the Trump administration’s implementation of 25-per-cent tariffs.
Poilievre called on the Liberal government to recall Parliament and urged the approval of his party’s ‘Canada First Plan’ as a response to the tariffs.
The plan includes imposing “dollar-for-dollar” tariffs on the U.S., the passage of an emergency “bring it home” tax cut, the promotion of interprovincial trade, and the strengthening of the military.
Poilievre, who was criticized for not mentioning fentanyl trafficking in his X post on a Canada First plan, pushed back at Trump’s concerns about cross-border fentanyl trafficking.
“Even if you believe in tariffs,” Poilievre said, “how is it possible to put a 25-per-cent tariff on Canada and only a 10-per-cent tariff on China? In what strategic mindset does that make sense?”
In FY 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 21,148 pounds of fentanyl at the southwest border, mostly from Mexico, while only 43 pounds — less than one per cent of total seizures — were intercepted at the northern border. A significant amount of fentanyl’s precursors originate in China.
“If it’s to do with fentanyl, the fentanyl is coming from China. It’s killing our people, too. We both have to do more to stop it. But we can do more if we do it together.”
True North asked Poilievre about the possibility tit-for-tat tariffs with the United States could lead to a trade war that Canada cannot win.
“Well, I believe we’re already in a trade war,” Poilievre responded, “and I believe that no one will win. I think both countries will lose.”