Akeeagok, Legault, other premiers to meet with Trump administration over tariff threat
President-elect plans 25% surcharge on all goods entering U.S. from Canada
The Council of the Federation comprises every Canadian provincial and territorial premier. (Screenshot courtesy of Council of the Federation/YouTube)
Premier P.J. Akeeagok will be in Ottawa this week and in Washington in February when he and his provincial and territorial counterparts discuss Canada’s relationship with the United States.
Akeeagok’s office confirmed Friday he will join the premiers Wednesday in a first ministers meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to plan a united front on Canada’s trade relationship with the U.S.
President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration is set for Jan. 20, and he has been threatening to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian exports to the U.S. since November, when he was elected.
Canada’s premiers are also planning a trip to Washington, D.C., Feb. 12 — less than four weeks after Trump’s return to the White House — to highlight the importance of this country’s trade relations with the U.S. in the face of tariff threats.
Akeeagok’s office said the Nunavut premier will attend. Quebec Premier François Legault tweeted last week that he will also be there.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who acts as chairperson of the Council of the Federation, is leading that initiative.
“The U.S. sells more goods and services to Canada than it sells to China, Japan and Germany combined,” a Jan. 10 news release from the Council of the Federation said.
The economic partnership between the two countries is worth more than a trillion dollars annually, the release said.
The delegation plans to meet with members of Trump’s administration, members of Congress and business leaders during the trip to Washington.
The Council of the Federation is made up of premiers from all 13 Canadian provinces and territories, and enables them to work together on issues that matter to Canadians.
Trudeau and the premiers have been in talks for the past several weeks about developing a common front against the tariff threats.
Retaliatory tariffs are reportedly on the table, including on items such as American steel products, ceramics, and Florida orange juice.
Trudeau needs to get out of the way. He is a useless, lame duck that no one south of the border (and few north of it) have any respect for and are certainly not listening to. What a disaster he has made of his party. I expect they will be reduced to ashes whenever the election finally comes.
imagine thinking anything would be different if any of the parties would be in charge right now,
Trump is doing the same thing to Greenland, and Panama, and will probably do it to many more.
He’s a deflecting bully, trying to distract from the fact that he’s about to absolutely wreck the US for decades (something the groundwork was laid for in his first term)
No offense, but you’re out to lunch on this.
For Trump the specter of a tariff is a negotiating tool. Part of what he wants is the end of the Trudeau government. He also wants Canada to begin paying its NATO dues, among other mostly reasonable things.
That said, Trump will not make a deal with Trudeau, regardless of whatever Trudeau “says” he will do. Trump knows, as many of us do (except maybe you?) that Trudeau is much better at promising and mouthing platitudes than governance. Trump also knows the Trudeau government is finished. Whatever promises he makes will be empty noise by the end of March. Actually, they are empty noise now.
Trudeau needs to step aside, but his vanity won’t allow it.
Also, to suggest Trump’s goal is to “distract from the fact that he’s about to absolutely wreck the US” is, frankly, the “stupid comment” here. Though I will grant the possibility he may achieve just that.
I don’t believe the OP specified that a new party should be in charge, just that Trudeau must go.
Trump is a deflecting bully, true. He did not “absolutely wreck” the US or lay the groundwork for same in his first term, although he has said many things that would certainly be very bad. In his first term he said a lot more dumb things than he actually did – let’s call it a 10:1 ratio. Some of the things he did were quietly retained by Biden (Warp Speed, incremental de-coupling from China to name a couple).
There are certainly serious risks here, but catastrophizing is not going to help, nor is open hostility.
The republican party, at least a few key people have manipulated trumps desperate need for power into a play for installing judges at every level.
We’ve seen it with their supreme court, and the lower courts are even worse, abortion rights are now gone for half the country,
lesser reported is striking down laws that required judges to bring in experts and can now just make decisions themselves they don’t understand the impact of.
there’s a LOT trump did in his first term that many don’t realize or havn’t truely felt the effects of yet.
prepare for any regulations required for food or medicine to be gone, all support to people in poverty gone, and so so much more.
that country is so screwed. I hope we don’t follow.
Also. Trump doesn’t want to deal with trudeau because he knows Pierre is going to bend the knee and throw the country away for some money.
Soo you’ll be running in the next election to apply your vast knowledge of everything to resolve all world issues. Have you ever put your name on any ballot. Not likely. Have you ever volunteered for any public service, again not likely.
To be fair we probably wouldn’t want them to run. and we often have to many people that just decide to run that dont know what they are doing (and dont care to learn), and they often get elected where the big problem lies is that we end up re-ellecting the same unqualified people the next time around anyway.
I would not be a good choice to run for office. but i will try hold those elect accountable… as in complain on Nunatsiaq.
Dear ‘So,’ your comment strikes me as one written from a deep sense of inferiority. Does that assessment resonate with you? I bet it does…
Ya i hate to say it but after 2 terms of trudeau i think im going conservative
You folks haven’t identified what Trudeau did to justify your comments. I am not a fan, but there are a few achievement that conservative never accomplished. Just get caught with slogans with no substances.
No one needs to justify their decisions to you, Johnny…
The defecit!
Pay attention, Johnny. Trudeau doubled our national debt. Think about that and what it means for the future of this country.
Is that what they meant by “go woke go broke”?
Paying 45% tax, still have to pay when going to the dentist, sending billions out of country instead of helping his own, hypocrite when it comes to climate change, eats extravagantly on private flights while people in his country starve or cant have decent food, the list goes on
More of the same … but this time with blue signs!!
While you are not wrong, anyone thinking that Akeeagok’s words mean anything to anyone outside Nunavut is also equally confused. Do you really think that Trump’s team will care about a man represents, in their view, ‘40,000 or so distant and impoverished people?’
Okay, so what’s the ‘wrong’ part?
In New York City- 1, ONE high-rise houses 46000 ppl
Yeah that’s just not true. An entire housing project could have that many people but not one building. The Schwab building is likely the largest with 636 units. Or are you referring to MetLife Stadium? … in New Jersey
Perhaps you shouldn’t be looking at the population of Nunavut but rather where it is located and understand that the Arctic is very important to the president-elect especially since he is very worried about Arctic Safety/Sovereignty and that he wishes for more of it. That is why he is interested in Greenland – interestingly enough Greenland’s population is just over 50,000 people. So Nunavut’s Premier’s words probably carry more weight than many think they do.
The primary motive for the US is access to resources, critical minerals to be exact. The primary threat is China, which has been involved in several mining projects in Greenland.
We are worried about China’s threat to arctic sovereignty but when Trump threatens arctic sovereignty its okay or less evil?
Where do we draw the line? Have we already forgotten about the Nunavut Devolution? Does that even matter?
Any threat to arctic sovereignty should be worrisome, not one political entity cares about the people on the land, just the resources beneath them.
He doesn’t care of our small population but he has a huge interest in the land, strategic location of Nunavut and with the Northwest Passage opening up (similar to the control he wants in Panama), our resources which we’ve barely tapped into, are all his interests – all military and financial interests.
You are absolutely correct! I heard former PM Chretien once say in regards to backlash against the building of the TransMountain pipeline that “if we don’t sell it (oil) ourselves, someone is going to come in and sell it for us” and I think we should all keep that in mind. Canada, and especially the North, is both strategic and as you said, very rich in un-tapped resources. I lived in NWT when young and while I love the idea of the North preserving its natural purity and First People’s cultural integrity, there are now a lot of international eyes looking at how they can best exploit this area — and these eyes do not care about culture or nature. What choice is left to the region’s leadership isn’t anymore determining whether or not to tap into these resources but fighting for and maintaining a powerful enough voice and position to ensure the least harm and greatest benefit to the peoples and the environment.
Yes actually, ‘40,000 distance and impoverished people’ who happen to be sitting on significant mineral resources, oil & gas potential, commercial shipping lanes the world will be vying for (especially China) and strategic military land positions (ever heard of the DEW line sites?) that are in close proximity to the US’s biggest adversary…
Waste of time and energy for these Premiers. Trump is an unhinged internet troll and can’t be rationalised with. At least the memes will be entertaining
it’s a waste of time because Trudeau will be there, and Trump hates him… there will be no “deals” until we have a new PM.
Trump will definitely lose sleep over Nunavut and big words PJ just learned.
Trump will definitely be intimidated by Nunavut.
Hey dude. Neanderthals are extinct. Everyone know you’re a beta male
Let them talk all they want.
When the finally stop (they will, eventually) just ask:
“Do you want our fire fighters to leave California?”
Then, SHUT UP.
Whoever speaks next, loses.
I really don’t want to share the oil revenues coming from north of Lancaster Sound.
LOL…. don’t worry, there aren’t any and likely never will be
Your little red ATV?
This is Vietnam wat bullshit all over again.. Trump is just trying to hold on to their promises made after the world War about keeping the stakes under the Liberal and Conservative government in Britain… they are all crashing down and trying to keep it under control…. once the dewlines looses trust…. politics will be rewritten once again…this time all over the world… it’s up to Japan and the Inuit now….to clash the system….
Ameriax is trying to get Greenland and clean up the nuclear energized station under the ice that was left behind, of the world finds out…. there economy will collapse….. there are lots of nukes under the ice too…. in all. Enough to destroy the world….
Is Ameriax some kind of gigantic underwater monster, like Godzilla but focused on cleaning up the nuclear materials under the ocean and Arctic ice?
pj stop trump we now you can do it and dont forget to take a photo opp we need proof
Mr. Trump or any of his acolytes. Will not change their minds. About putting Tariffs on Canada. No matter who or how many delegations that are sent. To kiss the ring.
Save the Canadian tax payers the cost of the trip. Stay home and don’t embarass
yourselves. Or the rest of us.