The federal government is woefully unprepared for a Trump Presidency. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President-elect Donald Trump. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X.
Last week’s announcement by President-elect Donald Trump regarding imposing significant tariffs on Canadian imports into the US has, to put it mildly, focussed the mind of Canadian politicians. Since Trump has been talking about such measures for a very long time, the only excuse Canada may have for being so unprepared is that they didn’t expect Trump to win the election. And that is a lame excuse as part of any governments’ job should be preparing for contingencies such as all election outcome possibilities – especially one as important to Canada as a U.S. election.
Unfortunately for us, Canada has a lame-duck leader in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who lacks the moral authority to act on behalf of Canada with the U.S., or anyone else for that matter. Needless to say, Trump knows this. So do Canada’s premiers, who have each in their own way weighed in on the Canada-U.S. trade situation. What is sorely and urgently needed here is leadership. Unless something unexpected happens, such as Trudeau stepping down as Liberal leader or calling an election, his lack of ability and authority to act on Canada’s behalf will continue until he is gone. That could be as late as October 2025, by which time even more damage will be done to Canada’s economy and Canadians’ standard of living.
There’s no doubt the federal government is woefully unprepared for a Trump Presidency. Sudden plans to purchase helicopters for border patrol, crackdowns on Canadian fentanyl manufacturers and last-minute commitments to immigration reforms aren’t fooling anyone. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne actually had the gall to suggest the Liberals had been “thinking” about doing some of the things Trump was noting, yet apparently hadn’t gotten around to actually acting on any of these measures.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said more resources would be devoted to border issues, but again there were no specifics. A hastily-called meeting between the premiers and Trudeau last week, at the request of the premiers, seemed to be a complete disaster as it became clear the federal Liberals had no plan of action.
There has been much talk about a “Team Canada” approach to the Trump tariff issue from some premiers and federal Liberals as well, but some premiers have been skeptical that all the players will be able to work together. Alberta’s Danielle Smith has been especially outspoken, stating that many of the Trudeau government’s policies won’t make it easy to work together. She noted energy policies in particular, such as the carbon tax and the proposed cap on oil and gas industry emissions that is currently under consideration. Canada’s number one export to the U.S. is energy, and Smith has been promoting the notion that Alberta’s resources are the solution to energy security for the United States.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who is currently head of the provincial premier group the Council of the Federation, made some unhelpful comments about Trump’s tariff threats being “like a family member stabbing you in the heart.” Several premiers acted in a similar manner, complaining that Canada didn’t deserve to be treated this way instead of acknowledging the reality that Trump is eminently justified in putting U.S. interests first and that there are very real issues Canadian governments should have dealt with long ago instead of waiting for a foreign leader to spur action.
It’s clear that mere promises will be very unlikely to stave off Trump’s threats. Prior to his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, Canada should take some tangible steps to act on known trade irritants. Actual investments on equipment for better border controls is something that could be done quickly, although this federal government has a very poor track record on being able to move rapidly on procurement matters. Another example would be for the Liberals to abandon policies such as forcing a “plastics registry” on that industry, an ill-conceived measure that has been shown to contravene the USMCA trade agreement.
The whole issue of the emissions cap for oil and gas should also be on the table, despite the stubborn myopia consistently demonstrated by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault. Many studies have shown how the imposition of such as cap would be very damaging to the Canadian industry, employment and tax revenues for governments. U.S. threats could be the perfect reason to take the cap proposal off the table. The Trump tariff threat could also be an opportunity to finally make some progress on scaling back supply management in the dairy and poultry industries, a policy that hurts Canadian consumers and is a constant impediment to Canada in trade negotiations.
What is clear is that there is considerable potential for some provincial premiers to take a leadership role in dealing with the U.S. in the face of a weak federal government on its last legs. Despite the apparent cordial nature of the recent Mar-a-Lago dinner, it is well known that Trump and a number of the key players selected for his upcoming administration have no love lost for Trudeau, senior ministers such as Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, and their woke policies. Some provincial premiers such as Smith, Scott Moe, Tim Houston and possibly Ford might be expected to be more effective in dealing with the Trump team.
The premiers would, however, have to put aside many of their interprovincial squabbles and consider the national interest. Given the typical fractiousness among the provinces, whether that is possible or not is a huge question mark. But who knows? Some of these provincial politicians might have federal ambitions down the road. This could be an excellent dress rehearsal.
She has published numerous articles in journals, magazines & other media on issues such as free trade, finance, entrepreneurship & women business owners. Ms. Swift is a past President of the Empire Club of Canada, a former Director of the CD Howe Institute, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, SOS Children’s Villages, past President of the International Small Business Congress and current Director of the Fraser Institute. She was cited in 2003 & 2012 as one of the most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network & is a recipient of the Queen’s Silver & Gold Jubilee medals.
