Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said Canada must stay united against a threat by Donald Trump to impose tariffs but two major provinces quickly called on him to address the U.S. President-elect's concerns.
Trudeau, who is due to meet the premiers of the 10 provinces on Wednesday to discuss U.S. relations, often notes his Liberal government has four years' experience of dealing with the first Trump administration.
Trump said on Monday he would impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico until they clamped down on drugs, particularly fentanyl, and migrants crossing the border. Such a tariff would badly hit the economy of Canada, which sends 75% of all goods exports to the United States.
"This is a relationship that we know takes a certain amount of working on, and that's what we'll do," Trudeau told reporters. "One of the really important things is that we be all pulling together on this."
The premier of Ontario, the most populous province and the country's industrial heartland, said Trump had good reason to be worried about the security of the long shared frontier.
"Do we need to do a better job on our borders? 1,000 percent ... we do have to listen to the threat of too many illegals crossing the border," Doug Ford told reporters.
"We have to squash the illegal drugs, the illegal guns."
But Ford, who wants Trudeau to ditch the trilateral U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade deal in favor of a bilateral pact with the United States, also said any tariffs would hurt both countries.
Trump's comparison of Canada to Mexico when it came to threats to the United States was "the most insulting thing I have ever heard", he said.
In another early sign of strain, the premier of the oil-rich province of Alberta said late on Monday that Trump had valid concerns related to illegal activities at the shared border.
"We are calling on the federal government to work with the incoming administration to resolve these issues immediately, thereby avoiding any unnecessary tariffs on Canadian exports to the U.S.," Danielle Smith said in a social media post.
"The vast majority of Alberta's energy exports to the U.S. are delivered through secure and safe pipelines which do not in any way contribute to these illegal activities at the border," said Smith, whose relations with Trudeau are icy.
Former Liberal finance minister John Manley called for calm, noting Trump had yet to take power.
"Don't set your hair on fire yet. We know Donald Trump is a bit of an entertainer," he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. "You need to stroke his ego and you need to enable him to have some wins."
Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said of Oman is scheduled to visit Moscow on Monday, just days after the commencement of a new round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks mediated by Muscat.
Despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s reluctance to support military action, Israel has not ruled out launching a limited strike on Iran's nuclear facilities in the coming months, according to Israeli and other sources familiar with the matter.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have stated that the United States will abandon efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine unless significant progress is made in the coming days.
In response to President Donald Trump's sweeping new tariffs, a number of global companies are eyeing expansion into the United States to minimize the economic fallout from the trade measures.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov extended Moscow’s support for the ongoing indirect nuclear talks between the United States and Iran, offering to mediate or assist in any way that would be beneficial to Tehran and acceptable to Washington.
The U.S. has expressed support for prolonging Russia’s one-day Easter ceasefire, even as Moscow ruled out an extension and both sides traded blame for violating the truce.
Oscar Piastri claimed victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, becoming the first Australian since 2010 to lead the Formula One championship.
Severe storms and flooding across Oklahoma and Texas have left two dead, including a child, and triggered widespread emergency responses.
Ukrainian President Zelenskiyy has called on Russia to pause attacks on civilian targets for a month, warning that rejection would show intent to keep fueling the war.
DHL Express will suspend global shipments above $800 to U.S. consumers starting April 21, citing delays caused by new customs regulations.
The Russian ruble has emerged as the top-performing currency globally in 2025, registering an impressive 38% appreciation against the US dollar since the beginning of the year, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The Holy Fire ceremony stands as one of Christianity's most enduring and mysterious rituals, drawing thousands of pilgrims to Jerusalem each year.
Severe rainfall on April 17 led to flooding and landslides in the Piedmont region, prompting a large-scale emergency response from over 400 firefighters.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for April 16th, covering the latest developments you need to know.
A Russian drone attack injured eight people in the Black Sea port city of Odesa late on Sunday (April 13), a Ukrainian regional official said.
The U.S. has expressed support for prolonging Russia’s one-day Easter ceasefire, even as Moscow ruled out an extension and both sides traded blame for violating the truce.
Oscar Piastri claimed victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, becoming the first Australian since 2010 to lead the Formula One championship.
Severe storms and flooding across Oklahoma and Texas have left two dead, including a child, and triggered widespread emergency responses.
Ukrainian President Zelenskiyy has called on Russia to pause attacks on civilian targets for a month, warning that rejection would show intent to keep fueling the war.
DHL Express will suspend global shipments above $800 to U.S. consumers starting April 21, citing delays caused by new customs regulations.
The U.S. has expressed support for prolonging Russia’s one-day Easter ceasefire, even as Moscow ruled out an extension and both sides traded blame for violating the truce.
Oscar Piastri claimed victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, becoming the first Australian since 2010 to lead the Formula One championship.
Severe storms and flooding across Oklahoma and Texas have left two dead, including a child, and triggered widespread emergency responses.
Ukrainian President Zelenskiyy has called on Russia to pause attacks on civilian targets for a month, warning that rejection would show intent to keep fueling the war.
DHL Express will suspend global shipments above $800 to U.S. consumers starting April 21, citing delays caused by new customs regulations.
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