Trump's threat to annex Canada 'real' and motivated by access to critical minerals, Trudeau tells crowd
PM meeting business leaders, unions to discuss fortifying Canada's trade
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told business leaders at the Canada-U.S. Economic Summit in Toronto that U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to annex Canada "is a real thing" motivated by his desire to tap into the country's critical minerals.
"Mr. Trump has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country and it is a real thing," Trudeau said, before a microphone cut out at the start of the closed-door meeting.
The prime minister made the remarks to business leaders after delivering an opening address to the summit Friday morning, outlining the key issues facing the country when it comes to Canada's trading relationship with the U.S.
After the opening address, media were ushered out of the room when a microphone that was left on picked up what was only meant to be heard by attendees.
Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association president Flavio Volpe was in the room when Trudeau made the comments. He said the prime minister went on to say that Trump is driven because the U.S. could benefit from Canada's critical mineral resources.
"I think the prime minister did well to articulate to serious people in this country that Donald Trump is serious about coveting those resources," said Volpe, a member of Trudeau's Council on Canada-U.S. Relations.
"It doesn't mean that he thinks that the annexation would happen in the ways people worry about, worst-case scenarios. What he's saying is Donald Trump approaches this with less respect for Canadian sovereignty than we think an American president would have."
Trump has said if Canada wants to avoid steep tariffs it could become the 51st state and has mused about using "economic force" to absorb Canada.
Asked about the comments, Labour Minister and government House Leader Steven MacKinnon said Canada may have different regions and political difference, but the country "is united on one thing: its pride in being Canadian."
"Canada is free, Canada is sovereign, Canada will choose its own destiny, thank you very much. But Canada is forever — so Canada will make its choices," he said.
"We will always, always, always, stand up for this country, for its people and for the ability to make our choices for ourselves."
In Trudeau's opening address to the summit, he said Canada needs both a tactical response to Trump's tariff threats in the short term, as well as a strategy for dealing with a less co-operative United States in the long term.
"We are in a moment, a moment that we have to meet for Canadians, to see not just how we get through this particular challenge over the next 30 days or few months, but how we get through and thrive and grow stronger over the next four years, and into what may be a more challenging long-term political situation with the United States," Trudeau said.
In order to have success on both of those fronts, Trudeau said that attendees of the summit will be discussing how to do three key things: deliver an internal free-trade deal, ensure Canada-U.S. trade works for both countries and ensuring Canada properly leverages the trade deals it already has with partners in Europe and the Pacific Rim.
After a tense weekend, Trump announced Monday afternoon he was shelving his promise to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods for at least a month, with Canada offering a plan to address Trump's border security and crime concerns.
Trudeau said earlier this week that despite that reprieve, concerns remain and the Canada-U.S. Economic Summit will "find ways to galvanize our economy, create more jobs and bigger paycheques, make it easier to build and trade within our borders and diversify export markets."
Interprovincial trade
Business leaders in Canada have long complained that it's easier to do business with other countries than other provinces, largely due to restrictions on the sale of alcohol, technical barriers such as vehicle weight standards and regulatory barriers such as licensing and paperwork requirements.
The prime minister said Friday that all of Canada's premiers are united in wanting to drop internal trade barriers that Trudeau says "just don't make sense," and now the timing is right to get it done.
"We have to move forward on it," Trudeau said Friday. "This is one of those moments and opportunities where we actually can. There's a window open because of the context we're in, we have to jump through it."
To get a truly internal free trade agreement, Trudeau said, will require governments and business leaders "to step up and push hard and make sure that in this moment we actually move forward on free trade within Canada."
Internal Trade Minister Anita Anand was asked during a news conference on Wednesday if "interprovincial trade barriers [could] be dealt with, wiped away in 30 days?"
"The short answer to your question is yes," she responded.
Trudeau also said that Canadians have to accept that our proximity to the U.S. means that we are going to be trading north and south for many years to come.
"We are always going to both benefit and be challenged by trade with the United States," he said. "Its always going to be a big chunk of our economy."
Trudeau said that to succeed, Canada needs to be "deliberate and strategic" about how it forges business partnerships with the U.S. when it comes to the trade in critical minerals and energy to ensure both countries win.
"These are things that we can deliberately look at, that we are looking at," Trudeau said. "We're always going to be trading with the United States, can we make sure we're doing it from a position of strength?"
- This Sunday, Cross Country Checkup is asking: Which federal politician would do the best job negotiating with Donald Trump? Leave your question here and we may read it on the Feb. 9 show.
Trudeau said Canada also has to make sure it is "taking advantage of the incredible trade deals" the country has signed with the European Union (EU), Pacific Rim countries and the United Kingdom.
"Its not enough to just sign a trade deal, we have to then follow up on it with trade missions, with actual investments, with partnerships," Trudeau said.
The prime minister said the summit will try to tackle how Canada can get more out of its free trade deal with the EU, how it can open new markets and diversify supply chains.
"There is a moment right now that we should be talking about," he said.
Conservatives say Trudeau should recall Parliament
Conservative MP Michael Barrett, the party's critic for ethics and accountable government, said that instead of holding a summit in Ottawa, Trudeau should be recalling Parliament so that MPs can debate Canada's response to Trump in the House of Commons.
"What issues could be more important than what is being addressed in the Trudeau performance in Toronto today?" Barrett said in the foyer of the House of Commons on Friday.
Barrett said there are important questions to ask Trudeau, but "he's gone into hiding behind a locked door."
Asked if his party would be willing to put off a confidence vote, that would bring down the government, in order to work on a legislative response to Trump's tariffs, Barrett said that dealing with the response to Trump could happen "and then when that issue has been put to rest, we can deal with the matters of confidence."
Barrett said that plan should be based on suggestions from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to pass a tax cut, repeal the B.C. coast tanker ban and secure the border.
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