Shameless Pandering of Federal and Provincial Officials in Washington, DC
The
performance of Canada's premiers who went to Washington, DC on
February 11-12 to convince the Trump administration to reverse course
on its announced tariffs on goods imported into the U.S. from Canada
was disgraceful. They took no stand against the outrageous attacks on
Canada's sovereignty
and threats of annexation, and tariffs that violate the terms of the
existing Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). Instead,
according to a February 12 press release from the Council of the
Federation, the stated aim of the Premiers' meetings was "to advocate
for maintaining strong
Canada-U.S. relations by addressing shared issues such as jobs and the
economy, energy, critical mineral supply chains, border security and
immigration."
Several of the premiers told reporters at a press conference before a humiliating meeting at the White House that they were in Washington to listen to what the administration wants from Canada and to explain the importance of the Canada-U.S. relationship and the economic harm of tariffs. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said that the trip was a "charm offensive ... making the case that the Canadian-American friendship has been the best in the world for decades and decades." Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said, "I think diplomacy is working. I think that the fact that we got a 30-day reprieve was because we agreed to work on the cross-border problem of fentanyl."
The humiliating meeting at the White House was organized by a U.S. lobbying firm the Council of the Federation is paying $85,000 a month to get them access to U.S. Senators, Congress people, and what are called stakeholders. This company produced Trump's Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative Affairs, Political and Public Affairs James Blair, and his Director of Personnel Sergio Gor to meet with the premiers at the White House.[1]
BC Premier David Eby said after the meeting that the meeting was "constructive" and "We had frank conversations about the 51st state comment where we underlined that was a non-starter."
Following
the meeting Blair posted on X, "Pleasant meeting with the Premiers. To
be clear, we never agreed that Canada would not be the 51st state. We
only agreed to share Premier Eby's comments. Further, we said the best
way to understand President Trump's position is to take what he says at
face value."
Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters after the meeting, "We had a very constructive conversation. We appreciate the Trump administration facilitating this literally in the last minute, and we're grateful we listened, we communicated, and we look forward to further conversations."
Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai told CTV that there is more that Canada can offer to appease Trump, including NORAD enhancements.
Federal Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc was also in Washington on February 12 and met with U.S. Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick at the White House, along with Canada's Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman. LeBlanc told reporters that the 90-minute meeting was "very constructive and positive." With regard to the threatened tariffs on steel and aluminum he said, "It's important to our economy, but it's also essential to their economy as well ... but we had a rather detailed conversation about those sectors, which I thought gave us an understanding of their concerns."
Despite talk that the premiers are resolved to appease Trump, since their trip to Washington, DC, two of Canada's premiers have resigned, citing their unwillingness to pursue this fight with the U.S. over tariffs and border security. On February 21, PEI Premier Dennis King "cited the recent fight against U.S.-imposed tariffs on Canadian goods, saying the political issues at play are not simple ones. He said it was best for him to hand the baton of leadership to someone who can take the provincial government further," CBC News reported. On February 25, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey also resigned referring to the possible trade war with the U.S. as one of the "blind sides" of his tenure. "We're looking at four years of erratic, crazy, bonkers behaviour by the President of the United States," Furey said at this resignation. "This is going to be a pervasive problem for Canadians for the next four years," he said.
Note
1. The meeting was arranged with the help of a U.S. consulting firm, Checkmate Government Relations hired by the Council of the Federation for U.S.$85,000 per month to represent it "on federal governmental relations matters in Washington, DC," as of February 1.
(CBC, Toronto Star, CTV)
This article was published in
Volume 55 Number 2 - February 2025
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2025/Articles/M550022.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca