Prime Minister Mark Carney underscored the need for “nation-building” and taking “risks” in growing the Canadian economy after a meeting with Canada’s premiers Friday.
The gathering of first ministers was the first since Carney took the reins of the federal government last week and was focused on the national response to Chinese and U.S. tariffs.
“(Our focus is on) nation-building, because together we can give ourselves more than any foreign government can ever take away,” Carney told reporters after the meeting.
The meeting is taking place just days before Carney is expected to launch a federal election campaign Sunday that would send Canadians to the polls as early as April 28 or May 5.
Carney announced a number of commitments his Liberal government would take if it survives beyond that election, including tabling legislation by July 1 to remove all federal restrictions under the Canada Free Trade Agreement to allow goods and workers to travel across the country, opening up interprovincial trade.
“We intend to, from a federal level, have free trade by Canada Day,” he said.
Carney said his government was also temporarily waiving the one-week Employment Insurance waiting period to allow workers impacted by tariffs to quickly receive EI payments, and allow businesses to temporarily defer corporate income tax payments.
Earlier Friday, the Prime Minister’s Office said the government was officially revoking the Liberals’ proposed changes to the capital gains tax inclusion rate that had generated controversy.
Carney said at the opening of the premiers’ meeting that the move would allow Canadian businesses and investors to take the necessary moves to help grow the economy.
“It’s a time where we have to take risks,” he said. “We need to do things that we haven’t imagined possible before at a speed we haven’t moved before.”
Premiers call for removal of trade barriers
Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said “we need a united Canada.”
He said U.S. President Donald Trump doesn’t respect weakness and that Canada needs to unite and “work hard” to end Trump’s trade war. He said the provinces should start dismantling interprovincial trade barriers now.
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Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Canada is fighting a trade war on two fronts and needs a solid economic plan.
“America is our closest neighbour and a really close ally so whatever we do with the PRC (People’s Republic of China) also has to make sense in terms of the engagement that we have with the U.S.,” he said.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who attended the meeting virtually, said Thursday that his priority for the meeting with Carney is to discuss China’s tariffs on Canadian canola oil and meal.
Beijing imposed the tariffs in response to Canada’s levies on Chinese-made electric vehicles, steel and aluminum. The new tariffs also targeted Canadian pork and seafood.
“(This is) the most urgent and the most immediate (tariff) that needs action,” Moe told reporters in Regina. “I don’t know if we can solve it but we ought to try, and I would ask the prime minister to make that phone call (to China) before you go to an election.”
New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said she was excited to be talking about ways to “blow up” interprovincial trade barriers.
She said Canada’s leaders need to continue engaging with the threat of tariffs during the coming federal election, especially with Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs, which are expected to land on April 2.
“We can’t drop the ball during this critical time,” she said.
None of the premiers have endorsed any federal party leader and most said they’d be happy to work with any prime minister chosen by Canadians.
Holt said that while she hasn’t met Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, she thought Carney would be a good negotiator with Trump due to his intelligence and “passion” for Canada.
Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai said before the meeting that the Arctic has “become a focus” and he wants to see all political parties commit to Canada’s North.
Before the meeting, Quebec Premier François Legault told reporters that the premiers must discuss ways to protect workers from Trump’s trade war.
He said Canada’s counter-tariffs must be crafted to ensure they maximize negative effects on American businesses while minimizing impacts on Canadian businesses. He said U.S. tariffs are hurting many Quebec companies already.
Legault said he’s open to pipeline projects and that public opinion on such projects has shifted due to the trade war, but he insisted that there needs to be “social acceptance” in Quebec before going forward.
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s final meetings with premiers, which took place before Carney was sworn in on March 14, focused on U.S. tariffs.
Trump’s trade war escalated last week when Washington imposed 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports entering the country, prompting Canada to expand its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.
Trump also has repeatedly called for Canada to become a U.S. state.
—With files from the Canadian Press
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