Ontario party leaders fire back at U.S. tariffs, but offer few solutions

With a week to go on the campaign trail, Ontario party leaders fired back at the United States hours after the Trump administration announced it is slapping Canada with tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced Thursday the U.S. has decided to end steel and aluminum tariff exemptions for Canada.

Canada, Mexico and the European Union were exempted from import duties of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum when they were first imposed in March, but those exemptions were set to expire Friday.

READ MORE: From pork to jeans — countries threaten tariff retaliation for U.S. steel, aluminum duties

Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne lashed out at U.S. President Donald Trump, saying jobs were on the line on both sides of the border as a result of Thursday’s announcement.

“I think that we’ve all had just about enough of Donald Trump,” Wynne said. “This is a president who rules by tweet. He doesn’t seem to get his bluster and his bullying are costing people real jobs. In his own country, in Canada and in Ontario.

“Out steel workers deserve better,” Wynne said. “I really believe that now the time for talk is done. Donald Trump is a bully and the only way to deal with a bully is to stand up and push back and we have to do that.”

1:42 Trudeau says approach to G7 meeting unchanged despite tariffs

• Trudeau says approach to G7 meeting unchanged despite tariffs
• Canada to impose ‘dollar-for-dollar’ retaliatory tariffs on the U.S.
• Trudeau calls new tariffs ‘an affront’ to the Canada/US relationship
• Wilbur Ross on steel tariffs: Countries ‘will get over this in due course’
• Trump set to impose steel, aluminum tariffs on Canada

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Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland has hinted that Canada will retaliate.

Two government sources told Global News that Canada has considered several actions and that a decision will be made after discussions with relevant ministers and premiers.

READ MORE: Kathleen Wynne positions herself as seasoned leader amid U.S. tariff threat

On Wednesday, Wynne made a campaign stop at a Stelco steel plant where she attacked both New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath and the Progressive Conservatives’ Doug Ford as unyielding ideologues without the experience to fend off the threat of American steel tariffs.

“On the one end of the spectrum, you have Doug Ford — he’s expressed his admiration for Donald Trump, despite the chaos, the uncertainty that the Trump administration has caused Ontario,” Wynne said. “On the other extreme, you have the NDP, who have historically campaigned against free-trade agreements — I would suggest a rigid and impractical position.”

WATCH: Andrea Horwath slams steel, aluminum tariffs on Canada by Donald Trump

2:14 Andrea Horwath slams steel, aluminum tariffs on Canada by Donald Trump

Following the announcement on Thursday, Horwath said Ontario steel workers were “dealt a direct blow” from the Trump administration while attacking Wynne’s credibility of protecting workers.

“As recently as yesterday, Kathleen Wynne assured families who rely on our steel and aluminum industry that her government is defending Ontario,” Horwath said in a statement. “Whatever Kathleen Wynne and Justin Trudeau have been doing isn’t working – and the consequences are unthinkable.”

READ MORE: Ontario election 2018: Ridings list

Conservative Leader Doug Ford said the U.S. tariffs would be hard for the “already-struggling steel industry and our workers” and vowed to resolve the trade spat.

“We must work domestically to make Ontario and Canada more competitive. After June 7, as premier, I will work with the federal government to resolve these trade issues to make Ontario open for business again,” Ford said.

Ontario heads to the polls June 7.

–with files from Maham Abedi and The Canadian Press