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On the day that U.S. President Donald Trump is preparing to attack Canada with a series of new tariffs, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has formulated his plan to greet Americans and help the country pass through what is expected to be a turbulent economic period.
Poilievre told reporters that he hadn’t spoken with anyone in the U.S. administration since the start of the trade war, saying he prefers to leave these discussions to the current prime minister to avoid splitting Canada’s “voice” and its ways to threaten “unreasonable” U.S. economy.
Although he did not lobby the United States directly for probation or pop up on U.S. TV, Poilievre said he had been doing his own “homework” and he had plans to try to neutralize Trump’s threat.
His plans include pushing for a trade deal that will be renegotiated as soon as possible with the U.S., cutting income taxes at home, reducing capital gains tax burdens on people investing in Canada, and standing up a business liquidity support program to get companies to cash to keep workers paid during tough times.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, speaking from Toronto on the 11th day of the campaign, was asked about his efforts to build relationships with the Trump administration and whether he invited Conservative Congressman Jamil Jivani to contact his friend U.S. Vice President JD Vance. Poilievre said he was always careful not to do anything to split Canadian voices and had no contact when communicating with the administration of the U.S. government.
Poilievre acknowledged that Trump’s trade agenda was a problem, but said his campaign would not be like Ontario PCs did in their recently won provincial campaign, and not like Ontario PCs.
He said he would continue to prosecute the Liberal Party’s failure in government and continue to focus on other pressing issues, such as the housing crisis, even as he faces pressures including within his party to make it a tough hub.
“I won’t stop talking about these issues that predate Donald Trump, and if we don’t solve them, it will be eliminated than Donald Trump,” Poilievre said.
“I will outline my plans there every day to prevent Canada from U.S. tariffs, but I will also be there without hesitation talking about my plans to build more homes, get people to give up drugs and get back to healing, set budgets and keep inflation,” he said.
“Economic Fortress” plan
Poilievre said that as part of his plan to Trump’s Trump, the administration led by him will create “economic fortresses” through turbocharged oil and gas development and pipeline construction to access more western resources to the rest of the country and around the world, reducing Canada’s reliance on the U.S. market.
Poilievre said he supports “targeted, mutual” tariffs on U.S. goods, but only products that have minimal damage to the Canadian economy, which is a potentially tricky balancing act.
Poilievre said he wants to sit down with Trump if he wins the next election and proposes a new trade deal to replace the president’s troubled Canada-US Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which the president has been struggling with due to his tariffs.
Poilievre said he hopes to see all Canadian tariffs on U.S. goods, and negotiations with Trump are underway as long as the United States also agrees to suspend its tariffs.
As part of these negotiations, Poilievre said he would acquiesce Trump’s request for Canada to spend more on defense.
Poilievre confirmed for the first time that a possible Conservative government would meet NATO’s benchmark, which is spending 2% of its domestic production on defense – Poilievre said he could initially provide any possible tariffs on U.S. goods, a multi-billion-dollar commitment to funding.
Poilievre also lists what he calls the Red Line in any negotiations with Trump and his team — things Canada will never agree to negotiate.
He said Canada must maintain control over its borders and freshwater and save its automotive industry and its agricultural sectors in its supply management.
He said Canada’s currency “our land, our sky, our culture and official language” and the protection of indigenous peoples is also non-propagandists.
“We will protect Canada’s sovereignty,” he said.
Canada’s economy must “change sharply”: Carney
Poilievre’s U.S. plan is not fundamentally different from what liberal leader Mark Carney pursued, who has agreed to Trump sit down immediately after this federal election (if he wins) and start renegotiating new, comprehensive economic and security relations to bring this fractured era to an end.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Carney said he would take a tough stance against Trump to protect the country’s interests – even if he hopes to negotiate an off-road vehicle for the trade war.
“As I made it clear to President Trump on our phone last week, I will reject all attempts to undermine Canada, all attempts to frustrate us, break our attempts to enable us to have us. This will never happen.”
“President Trump is trying to fundamentally reorganize the U.S. economy, which means that the economy here needs to change dramatically, too.”
Liberal leader Mark Carney was asked about the U.S. seeing Bill 96 as a trade barrier when he spoke from Winnipeg on the 10th day of the election.
Still, Poilievre said he would be better off defending the country because liberals have weakened Canada by limiting natural resources development and monitoring the boring economic growth in recent years.
He said Carney could not trust the release of the energy sector, as Liberal leaders have promised to keep the C-69 Act, the last government’s environmental regulatory framework that was too restricted by industry criticism.
Carney said he is willing to build a new East and West to stimulate development and reduce Canada’s dependence on the United States, which is essentially the only export market for us, especially oil products.
Poilievre claims Trump is “supporting” Carney, while the president “annotates Carney as the winner of the next election” because the Americans would rather negotiate with the Carney team.
Poilievre said liberals will leave Canada “weaker and poorer than the past decade” and depend on and “frail” on Americans.
“Trump wants the Liberals to win a fourth term,” he said. “It’s time to make changes with the new Conservative government that will put Canada first.”
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