Trump communicated his dire warning through his social media platform Truth Social. Both Canada and Mexico must drastically reduce their illegal border crossings, and the smuggling of fentanyl into the USA. If the response to these demands is judged to be inadequate, then the new tariffs will be unilaterally imposed on the two member states of the tripartite trade agreement known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreements (USMCA) on day one of the new Trump administration.
Here is Canada’s panicked response, and what actions Canada will take in the short term:
- Prime minister Justin Trudeau spoke on the phone with President-elect Trump on Monday evening.
-PM Trudeau will have an emergency conference call on Wednesday with the Premiers of the 10 Canadian provinces. Under the Canadian Constitution, it is the provinces that have jurisdiction on all natural resources in Canada.
-An emergency debate in the Canadian House of Commons took place Tuesday evening, without much cooperation from the leading opposition party, the Conservatives, who expect to bring down the lame-duck PM Trudeau’s minority Liberal government on the first occasion.
- There will be Increased cooperation with US border officials, and provisions for possible Canadian budget increases to allow for beefing up Canadian border security, including more border patrols and the purchase of more drones and helicopters.
