Trump has turned Canadian politics into complete 'disarray': report
President-elect Donald Trump's jokes about the U.S. taking over Canada as a potential state or issuing high tariffs on imports has turned the government into complete "disarray," The Guardian reported Tuesday.
While Trump gleefully watched Prime Minister Justin Trudeau relinquish his hold on the national government, Canada’s provincial premiers are now sharply divided over how to respond to Trump's tariff threats.
Premiers, who are like state governors, have tried to handle Trump using several different approaches to handling the crisis, including "personal appeals to the president-elect, multimillion-dollar advertising sprees, and targeted threats," according to the
None of it has made much difference, as Trump laughs at Canada in TruthSocial posts.
Bloomberg News reported Monday that the Trump team's plan so far is to raise the tariffs on Canadian imports by 2-5% each month. They think this will prevent inflation from exploding.
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Justin Trudeau announced his exit as party leader, and The Guardian claimed that his government has been quiet, with provincial leaders preparing for an international crisis.
“I think we need to be prepared that tariffs are coming,” said Alberta’s premier, Danielle Smith.
That said, she's resisting calls to retaliate against Trump, saying, "You end up hurting yourself in trying to retaliate.”
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe agreed with Smith, but Ontario Premier Doug Ford is discussing "cutting off electricity exports to the US or targeting American liquor," the report said.
“That’s Danielle Smith, she’s speaking for Alberta … I’m speaking for Ontario that’s going to get hurt a lot more,” Ford said when the Guardian reached out for comment. “[Trump’s team] aren’t going to go after the oil. They’re coming after Ontario. Let’s be very clear about this – and we’re going to make sure that we do everything we can to protect Ontarian jobs.”