WASHINGTON, D.C. — Canada’s premiers and Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc took meetings at the White House Wednesday in hopes of convincing U.S. President Donald Trump not to impose tariffs.
Canada’s premiers were in town to make the case for a stronger Canada-U.S. relationship, meeting with “senior advisors to the President of the United States” in the afternoon after numerous one-on-ones with congressional representatives.
The meetings came as the White House confirmed the United States’ second round of tariffs on aluminum and steel would be stacked on top of the 25 per cent levies placed on them as part of the across-the-board tariffs Trump has announced but paused after the federal government negotiated a 30-day delay.
Council of the Federation chair Doug Ford, who is currently running for re-election in Ontario, laid out high expectations for the Washington trip, saying a win would be no tariffs on Canadian goods.
“We're their number one customer, and I'm not too sure they fully understand the impact on both countries,” he told reporters ahead of a series of meetings with U.S. representatives. “We're down here to listen to our U.S. colleagues. We're down here to communicate with the U.S. colleagues and business people on both sides of the border, and we have to make sure that we communicate how important it is to be stronger together.”
“And to be very frank, the people I've met, no matter if it's business or on the political side, they all get it. So we have to make sure that gets communicated to the president.”
LeBlanc was also in town to meet with Howard Lutnick, the president’s choice for commerce secretary, and National Economic Director Kevin Hassett.
He suggested the meetings this week were a continuation of his conversation with the president in Mar-a-Lago in December, and that he would be discussing border security and the fight against fentanyl.
Canada recently named Kevin Brosseau, former RCMP officer and the PM’s deputy national security adviser, as the country’s “fentanyl czar.” Brosseau has said he hopes to visit Washington soon, but didn’t provide any details as to the tangible results he will deliver.
“We think we've made a lot of progress on that issue,” LeBlanc said in Washington.
“We have absolutely no daylight between ourselves and the American administration in terms of fighting against fentanyl, dealing with precursor chemicals that come from China, transnational organized crime, border integrity.”
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LeBlanc and the premiers appeared optimistic heading into their meetings Wednesday afternoon, which included sessions with Democratic Congressman Tim Kennedy and Republican Congressman Adrian Smith, who chairs the ways and means trade subcommittee.
There was also a luncheon hosted by the Canadian American Business Council.
There were at least five scheduled meetings set for premiers, according to Ford’s office. However, some had to be moved around due to a last-minute invitation to meet at the White House.
B.C. Premier David Eby confirmed the meeting was with Trump's deputy chief of staff James Blair and Sergio Gor, director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office. He said they were urged to come back and continue conversations once key personnel in the Trump administration, like the commerce and trade secretaries, were confirmed.
“There were some very frank moments across the table, and they urged us to take the president at his word and so we will certainly do that,” he said.
Trump wants the United States to be respected and that Canada "should see things through that lens.”
Ford, meanwhile, said it was “a good conversation” and “we’ll see how we move forward.”
Not a failure in diplomacy, premiers say
At a brief media availability in the morning, premiers dismissed questions about whether their message of cooperation was getting through, pointing to the 30-day delay in the first round of tariffs as evidence.
“I think diplomacy is working,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said. “What I've seen from this president is that he is prepared to make a deal.”
Ford agreed, telling reporters later in the day that it’s about learning more about how American businesses work and communicating the harms related to tariffs.
“As we inform them, I think their minds should change a little bit,” he added.
However, there seems to be some disagreement over how to deal with trade with the United States overall, with Eby warning about further integrating the two countries' economies amid the tariff threat.
“What we're doing is we're diversifying markets,” he said. “We're looking for other customers, everyone from our aluminum producers to our miners to our forestry companies to our agriculture producers, our seafood sales, all of it and that's really unfortunate.”
These comments differed from what Ford has been promoting as his “Fortress Am-Can” pitch, which encourages more trade and cooperation between the two North American countries.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, however, said his province is looking for “continued” integration, noting products related to energy, agriculture and manufacturing often cross the border multiple times.
“We are neighbours. We are going to have to find a way to get along, and we're here with that warm and hearty handshake saying this relationship has worked for decades. Let's find a way to continue making it work for decades more.”
Meanwhile, there is a ticking clock, with just under three weeks until general U.S. tariffs are potentially implemented and four weeks until those on steel and aluminum take effect.
If this happens, there will be an “equally unequivocal” response by Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters from Belgium Wednesday, where he was taking part in a Canada-EU leaders' meeting.
“Canada will respond as appropriate in a calibrated but extremely strong way, regardless of what the U.S. moves forward with.”
Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, said the president is a big fan of tariffs “as a policy tool,” which means there is wiggle room.
“Our job is to demonstrate in as much granularity as possible across all regions of this country, what the relationship with the United States means for Americans,” she said. “What benefits do they get from it?”
According to reports, Trump is set to announce reciprocal tariffs later this week, which will impose the same levies on imported goods as other countries impose on U.S. imports.
Note: This story has been updated with comments from premiers following their White House visit.
