Canada Strong and Free Network conference opens with talk about Trump tariffs

Former Secretary of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, testifies during the House Committee Homeland Security hearing on borders, Wednesday, June 14, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Mariam Zuhaib

OTTAWA — A former member of the first Trump administration in Washington says the American leader’s chaotic approach to tariffs is “by design.”

Chad Wolf, who served in several political roles in the Department of Homeland Security during President Donald Trump’s first term, made the comment tonight as the opening speaker at the Canada Strong and Free Network conference in Ottawa.

The not-for-profit organization used to be known as the Manning Centre, and was founded by former Reform Party leader Preston Manning.

While the group says it’s non-partisan, the annual conference is also billed as a gathering of the conservative movement in Canada.

Wolf was asked what Trump wants from countries like Canada when it comes to trade and tariffs, and said chaotic Trump’s tariff tactics are a “business approach” that have worked well for the president.

“It’s a feature, not a bug,” Wolf said.

Trump campaigned on a promise to restore America’s greatness by imposing tariffs on the rest of the world. Since he returned to office in January he has embarked on a confusing array of tariff policies, promising certain amounts on certain places, including Canada, that he then pulls back or changes.

That has included 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on Canada and Mexico that were ordered, then halted for a month, then adjusted to affect different products and leave out things covered under the continental trade agreement Trump himself negotiated in 2018. There have also been tariffs ordered, and then either paused and adjusted on steel, aluminum and the auto industry.

He sowed a meltdown in global financial markets over the last week after imposing a confusing array of tariffs on almost every country in the world, before suddenly on Wednesday adjusting course and saying they’d be paused for 90 days, only for the White House to then say all countries would get a 10 per cent tariff for now, though Canada and Mexico were again unaffected by that particular policy, as tariffs for both were through separate streams.

Wolf said the tariffs are a result of other countries “ripping off” the United States, as well as a way to raise revenue. He said the 90-day pause on tariffs that Trump has now announced is part of “the art of the deal” and that he is trying to get other countries to the table to cut a deal.

“The American people, they knew exactly what they were voting for,” he said.

On Friday, the conference is set to hear from former U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer, who was a key proponent of tariffs during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term.

Wolf told the crowd on Wednesday evening that he spoke with Lighthizer a couple of weeks ago about what is happening inside the White House, and Lighthizer told him

“If anyone tells you they know what’s going on, they don’t know what’s going on.”

Lighthizer’s talk is considered off-the-record and media will not be allowed to attend.

Moderator and former Conservative Party of Canada President John Walsh asked Wolf how the next Canadian government should approach the Trump administration.

“I would advise not to do the Zelenskyy approach, you probably don’t want to do that,” he replied, referring to a disastrous meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump at the White House in February.

Wolf said Trump respects people who fight for their country but he wants results. He added that Trump is doing things that have never been done before in the United States and expects other countries to do the same.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is scheduled to speak at the conference Thursday, and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe on Friday. The event is taking place with the backdrop of the federal election, and no Canadian federal politicians are to take the stage during the three-day event.

The conference opened with a reminder from organizers that they cannot be partisan during the campaign.

Network chair Michael Binnion told the crowd that the group cannot express support for a political party or discuss issues directly related to the campaigns, but the speakers are free to speak their minds.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 9, 2025.

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press