Unified on Trump and Tariffs, Canada's Premiers Differ on Next Steps
But when it came to how Canada should respond and deal with the resulting economic turmoil, their patriotic unity swiftly dissipated into the regional rifts that have long divided the country.
Even after meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday, the 13 premiers still had conflicting views about further trade retaliation against the United States if Mr. Trump goes ahead on Aug. 1 and imposes 35 percent tariffs on Canadian exports.
Even without a single project being announced, divisions have formed among provinces around Mr. Carney's plan to offset economic losses from reduced trade with the United States by rapidly building major infrastructure projects like oil pipelines.
Still, as the meeting wrapped up on Wednesday, Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario and the host, boasted about the unity among the political leaders in the face of Mr. Trump's potentially devastating tariffs. He called it 'a united team Canada approach.'
Mr. Ford repeatedly pushed for retaliation if Mr. Trump follows through on his threat or if Canada is unable to reach a deal with the United States by Aug. 1 to eliminate the tariffs the United States has already applied on Canada.
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