Ford, feds say they had 'productive' meeting with top Trump trade official in Washington
'The temperature's coming down,' Ontario premier says; feds are tight-lipped
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and federal officials left an hours-long meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying they feel more positive about the Canada-U.S. trading relationship after weeks of bad blood and heated rhetoric.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Ford said he feels like "the temperature is being lowered, the temperature's coming down" after the bilateral talks.
"This, I can honestly say, was the best meeting I've ever had coming down here. We want the best outcome for both countries. We're like a family — sometimes there's tension between families but that was an extremely productive meeting. I'm feeling positive," he said.
Ford said there will be another meeting next week between Canadian and American trade officials but offered no details on what they are planning to discuss — but the promise of another meeting could be read as something of a good sign.
"We're having very productive conversations and they're turning out very, very well," Ford said.
Asked if he's prepared to put his 25 per cent tax on U.S.-bound electricity back on, Ford didn't answer as he hopped into a waiting black SUV.
Canada and the U.S. are in the throes of a trade war after U.S. President Donald Trump slapped tariffs on all Canadian goods — and later partially dialled back — to supposedly pressure the country to do more at the border on drugs and migrants.
This week, Trump levied a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum imports.
To hit back at what the federal government has called "unjustified" and "unjustifiable" tariffs on a long-time trade partner, Canada has levied retaliatory tariffs on roughly $60 billion worth of American goods in response.
Trump says Canada only works as a U.S. state
While officials sounded a positive tone, Trump himself continued with his 51st state taunts and outlandish claims about Canada-U.S. trade.
Asked Thursday if he's going to lift any tariffs on Canada, Trump told reporters: "We're not going to bend."
He vowed to destroy the Canadian aluminum and steel sectors and the auto industry.
"We've been ripped off as a country for many, many years," he said, falsely repeating his usual claim that the U.S. is somehow "subsidizing" Canada to the tune of $200 billion a year.
The U.S. trade deficit with Canada was $63 billion US last year, much of it driven by American demand for cheaper Canadian oil. If energy is stripped out, the U.S. actually has a trade surplus with Canada, data shows.
Trump said the U.S. doesn't need anything from Canada, even though his government's own data shows otherwise.
Canada exports some four million barrels of oil a day to the U.S., which doesn't produce nearly enough on its own to meet demand.
American manufacturing is also reliant on Canadian aluminum because the country only makes only a fraction of what it needs.
Plus, provinces like Ontario supply electricity to millions of homes and businesses.
"You have to run your own country and, to be honest, Canada works only as a state," Trump said.
He said absorbing Canada would make the U.S. "the most incredible country, visually."
"If you look at a map, they drew an artificial line through it, somebody did it a long time ago and it makes no sense," he said.
The border between Canada and the U.S. was first set centuries ago after the American Revolutionary War and reaffirmed by a series of treaties in the years to follow.
The border is also not an "artificial line." In large swaths of the country it follows waterways like the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.
Ministers call talk 'constructive'
In a separate news conference with reporters at the Canadian embassy, Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said they could not say much about what was discussed in private today, only that things seem to be headed in the right direction.
LeBlanc said they had "a very constructive discussion" with Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and their respective teams.
The finance minister said he and the other Canadians made it known that Trump's tariffs on some Canadian goods and his separate regime on Canadian steel and aluminum should be removed.
Champagne said he also stressed just how damaging those tariffs are to workers and businesses on both sides of the border — not to mention the stock market.
But LeBlanc said the conversation was also about how the two countries can "work together to build a strong North American economy."
He said there were discussions about what the countries can do to check China, but did not offer details.
Asked if there was a tangible outcome from these discussions, Champagne said the agreement to just continue talks in a civil way is something of a win.
"I would say we leave Washington better equipped to defend Canadian interests," he said
Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador to the U.S., said it was valuable to get face time with Greer in particular, a man she described as the president's "main quarterback" for the America First trade policy agenda, including Trump's threatened "reciprocal" tariffs on goods from around the world that are set to take effect on April 2.
The focus of Thursday's talks was getting Greer to understand the possible consequences of those tariffs if they come into force on Canadian goods early next month, Hillman said.
This was not a chance to talk about renegotiating the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), the trilateral free trade deal between those three countries, something that isn't up for review until 2026, she said.
Some premiers have been angling to have that agreement renegotiated earlier than planned.
Champagne said Canada will continue to take a hard stance on the U.S., though, keeping its retaliatory tariffs in place for as long as necessary.
"We will do it the Canadian way — I think there's no alternative to standing up for Canadians," he said.
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