Mounting tariff threats from Donald Trump have left Canada's leaders in turmoil, prompting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to relinquish party leadership. Provincial premiers, likened to state governors, are at odds over whether to strike back or seek negotiation as economic tensions surge.
The administration is in total "disarray" due to President-elect Trump's jokes about the United States annexing Canada or imposing hefty tariffs on imports, according to Tuesday's story in The Guardian.
During the time when Trump was happily seeing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau abandon his control on the national government, the premiers of Canada's provinces are now sharply divided over how to respond to Trump's threats over tariffs.
Premiers, who are similar to state governors, have attempted to manage the situation with a variety of various strategies, according to The Guardian. These strategies include making personal appeals to the president-elect, going on advertising sprees that cost multiple millions of dollars, and making threats that are specifically directed at the president-elect.
None of it has made much of a difference, as evidenced by Trump's posts on TruthSocial in which he makes fun of Canada.
The Trump administration's aim, according to a report published by Bloomberg News on Monday, is to increase the duties on Canadian goods by two to five percent each month. They believe that this will contain inflation and prevent it from exploding.
The administration of Justin Trudeau has reportedly been silent as he steps down as party leader, with province leaders allegedly getting ready for an international crisis, The Raw Story reports.
According to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, the province's residents should brace themselves for impending tariffs.
Having said that, she is defending herself against calls to retaliate against Trump by stating, "You end up hurting yourself in trying to retaliate."
Meanwhile, the Premier of Saskatchewan, Scott Moe, concurred with Smith, and the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, is reportedly considering either discontinuing power exports to the United States or focusing on American liquor, according to the story.
"That's Danielle Smith, she's speaking for Alberta ... I'm speaking for Ontario that's going to get hurt a lot more," Ford stated in response to the Guardian's request for a 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."
