The leader of Canada’s Conservative Party indicated this week that America would be “hit hard” in retaliation over President Trump’s impending tariffs if he’s elected the country’s next prime minister.
“We’re both going to lose as Americans and Canadians if we get in a trade war,” Pierre Poilievre told CTV News Atlantic Friday, the first time he’s outlined his agenda. “We can buy elsewhere to maximize the impact on Americans and minimize the impact on Canadians.”
When asked if he would seek a “dollar for dollar” punishment for Trump’s looming 25% tariffs, the pol heavily favored to replace embattled PM Justin Trudeau did not hold back.
“I would say so. It has to hit hard. We have to be very pinpoint and surgical,” Poilievre, 45, said.
The 25% tariffs Trump intends to impose on Canada and Mexico could start as soon as Feb. 1.
Roughly $3.6 billion worth of goods cross the US-Canada border daily while jobs for more than 2 million Canadians are tied to US exports, according to the country’s Chamber of Commerce.
Poilievre has drawn comparisons to Trump, 78, with Trudeau even snarking last year that the firebrand Conservative aims to “make Canada great again.”
“We have freer trade now with the Americans than ourselves,” Poilievre told CTV.
“We have to knock down those barriers. If [America is] going to be an unreliable trade partner, we’ve got to find ways to sell more to ourselves and the world.”
Poilievre was first elected to Canada’s Parliament in 2004 when former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government was in power.
His popularity skyrocketed after he was elected the party’s leader in early 2022 and backed the “Freedom Convoy” truck drivers who had descended upon Ottawa in protest of the country’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Poilievre previously promised that, if elected, he would carry out “the biggest crackdown on crime in Canadian history” and “take back control of our border, take back control of immigration, take back control of spending, deficits and inflation.”
Trudeau, 53, resigned earlier this month after nearly a decade in office amid mounting calls for him to step down and “internal battles” within his Liberal Party. He plans to stay in his post until the ruling lefty party chooses a replacement.
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