A unique and incredibly daunting situation has Canada in an impending tariff war while its government is prorogued, unable to properly strategize while the world's largest power is looming over its head and dangling astronomical tariffs on all our exports to them.
That's the situation as described by Portage-Lisgar MP Branden Leslie. He says the current Liberal government is more concerned over its next leader when, instead, an election should be called immediately to get that issue settled so the entire nation can deal with this unprecedented dilemma.
Although it was anticipated that U.S. President Donald Trump would implement tariffs when his presidency took effect, the issue has added extra work for Conservative MPs during prorogation, when they would prefer to be in parliament addressing these matters more effectively, noted Leslie.
Leslie held a roundtable discussion on the issue in Winkler on Wednesday.
Engaging Business Owners
"I decided on Monday, the day after the impending tariffs were announced, that I needed to hear directly from many business owners likely to be impacted by the tariffs. And just as importantly, the potential of our countervailing tariffs. Many businesses can see the obvious impact of the tariffs the Americans would apply when selling goods. Any retaliatory tariffs could have a major impact on employers in our region and their ability to stay in business, with potential job losses and impact on many Canadians' day-to-day living in a time that we already have record-breaking costs of living," Leslie said.
Gathering Input
"It's to hear directly from them what the impacts may be so that I can send word up the chain of command; how we need to be very targeted in particular those countervailing tariffs. It's so that we don't accidentally shoot ourselves in the foot and end up driving up the cost of living for Canadians further, putting tens or even hundreds of thousands of jobs in jeopardy here in Canada," Leslie explained.
Relief and Ongoing Concerns
Leslie expressed relief over the 30-day delay in the imposition of tariffs but acknowledged that the situation is far from resolved.
"I think it's obvious, at a time right now, that the Government of Canada, with the resignation of our Prime Minister, is giving us a Cabinet that's focused on the Liberal leadership race, and not really on tariffs and the governance of our country. Additionally, Parliament is prorogued, and we can't go and discuss this in Ottawa and ask questions. It's a valuable time that we take this opportunity as Members of Parliament across the country to understand what those ramifications could be. I assume many of my colleagues across the country are doing the same thing: listening to our business community, trying to understand what those impacts are going to be, and getting a better understanding of what we should not be imposing tariffs on," he said.
Specific Topics and Broader Implications
Leslie noted that some main topics in the media include liquor coming from the United States, which he believes is more of a symbolic gesture. However, the detailed aspects of countervailing tariffs could have a significant impact on the income of businesses and their employees.
Avoiding a Trade War
All of this is considered in light of strengthening the borders to prohibit fentanyl smuggling, prompting Leslie to state that nobody wants to impose tariffs on the United States.
"We don't want to have tariffs placed on goods that we're selling into the United States. A trade war is bad news for everybody, considering our long-time partnership with the United States. It's extremely disappointing that we are in this," Leslie continued. "But we are largely in this position due to weakness from our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, as he leaves, and we leave a Parliament that is sitting empty right now. We're a country with a government in shambles, and the largest economy in the world is looking to take advantage of us. I certainly don't want to see tariffs and countervailing tariffs on our part, but begrudgingly I think we're being forced to do that."
Strategic Steps Forward
Leslie rhetorically asked, what steps should be taken in the midst of such a situation?
"How do we do that in the most targeted, precise way so that we can ensure if it comes to that, that American consumers will immediately feel the impact, recognizing that the Canadian economy is strongly integrated with the US economy, and that it has the potential to drive up their cost of living, so that the tariffs, should they come into place, be as short-lived as possible, and we can actually, as soon as possible, have an election."
He added that an election would provide a government with legitimacy, able to negotiate with President Trump to end tariffs entirely and find ways to work together toward continental and border security, as well as strengthening Canada's armed forces to contribute to global and North American safety.
Failures of the Current Government
"What President Trump is asking from us is something that, frankly, the Government of Canada should have been doing for the past nine years. But under the Liberals, it has failed to do so, and we're reaping what we have sown here in terms of the failures of the current government in Ottawa over these past years. The fact that the Liberals have put partisan interests above that of the interests of Canada by proroguing Parliament and focusing on a leadership election for the Liberal Party leader, rather than worrying about the cost-of-living crisis here in Canada, and the impacts that these decisions of partisanship above country have the position they put us in," Leslie said.
Balancing Security and Tariff Management
With the balancing act required to both ramp up border security, as Trump demands, and consider how Canada should handle tariffs on both sides of the border, Leslie shares his thoughts.
"It's a shame that it's taken the U.S. President to shine such a light on the failures of this government when it comes to securing our border," says Leslie.
He pointed out that illegal migrants are crossing the border in both directions and highlighted the limited amount of fentanyl, a hot topic President Trump has addressed.
"Obviously, much more fentanyl is trafficked into the United States through Mexico than through Canada. But I can certainly understand when, here in Canada, we've legalized many hard drugs, particularly in BC, through a radical experimental plan that has shown to fail. We've simultaneously legalized many of the precursor active ingredients that create fentanyl. So, when the Americans look to Canada and see you're being radical in your drug policy, we don't want that to have an impact on our citizens. I can certainly respect where they're coming from."
Leslie believes the tariff policy isn't a fair method to push Canada to make these changes. He asserts that the blame lays with the Canadian government for failing to secure the border, adequately fund the military, and meet the two per cent NATO requirement promised for the past ten years.
"It's unfortunate that it has been had such a light shone by the U.S. But frankly, these are things that Conservatives have been talking about for years; things that we need to do generally to support those who serve in our armed forces, and those that protect our borders. It's the longest unsecured border in the world between Canada and the United States," Leslie continues. "We want to have free and fair trade moving across our borders safely and swiftly. We need to do our level-best to make sure that we don't have illegal guns being imported from the United States into Canada, focus on the prevention of those illegal arms entering our country, and potentially causing victimization here in Canada, just as we do in ensuring that we have strong penalties for those that are trafficking drugs within Canada and into the United States."
All in all, Leslie adds, it's a wait-and-see situation. He welcomes the 30-day reprieve but insists Canada should never impose tariffs unless the United States does first.
Positive Steps and Concerns
"Some of the announcements out of the Liberals in Ottawa over the past couple of days, as it relates to the border, I think, are positive. My concern is that they will not go far enough, in particular, when we talk about a billion-dollar border plan, well, Parliament needs to be in session. Parliamentarians like myself need to vote in favour of such a plan. This reprieve without Parliament functioning isn't going to get us where we need to be," Leslie says.
He stresses that Parliament simply needs to be recalled immediately so that money can flow to border guards and help appease the President.
Addressing the Broader Issues
"We need a functioning Parliament for any of that to happen. So, this 30-day reprieve is certainly positive, but unless we take action, unless the Liberals get off their partisanship here and put the focus back on Canada and let Parliament function, my concern is we are far from out of the woods when these 28 remaining days until this agreement we have in place comes to an end. We need to find solutions to prepare both in terms of countervailing retaliatory tariffs, but more importantly, work with the U.S. administration to let them know that we are serious about securing our border between our two countries, about enhancing our defense, and actually focusing on putting criminals in jail and not having them leave the country and enter the U.S. illegally."
Leslie points out that as far as free trade is concerned, Canada, the U.S., and Mexico recently renegotiated CUSMA (Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement), formerly known as NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement).
Importance of Free Trade
"Many of these tariffs certainly run contrary to, if not the legality, at least the spirit of that agreement. Free trade has been, generally speaking, a huge benefit to much of the world and certainly North America in terms of creating wealth for both of our countries. It's something that we should not abandon. We have many businesses across our region that are highly integrated within U.S. supply chains that provide parts and services to businesses all across America. Disentangling that is going to be next to impossible. I think that's why we need to focus on working together from a security side, but also, I would call it, a friendly competition. A rising tide lifts all boats. If we can have a government in Canada that's focused on unleashing our natural resource and entrepreneurial potential, it is only going to do good things for both the Canadian and the American economies," Leslie emphasizes.
He concludes by stating that a focus on how each country can help the other through trade and continued integration, while securing the border and enhancing the military, is the best way out of the situation.
"That's why we as Conservatives have been talking about this for years. It's just a shame that it's taken such drastic comments and potential proposed measures in the United States for us to actually take any action on them," says Leslie.