Canada needs to ‘stay very cool’ with Trump: Charest

Former Quebec premier Jean Charest urges Canadians to 'remain calm' despite turbulent times.

Amid a termination of trade talks between the United States and Canada and a looming increase of levies on Canadian goods, Quebec’s former premier says now is the time to stay cool.

Jean Charest, who is leading a Chamber of Commerce trade mission to Washington this week, told CTV’s Power Play on Tuesday that it’s vital for Canada to not lose sight of the ultimate goal: the renewal of the Canada-United States-Mexico Trade Agreement (CUSMA).

“Now is the time to stay very cool and to be focused on what it is that we want,” he told host Vassy Kapelos, noting that includes protecting the trade agreement while addressing major irritants, including the steel, lumber and auto sectors.

“Those are the objectives. The rest is a distraction, frankly, and we need to continue to be the adult in the room,” he said. “‘Stay focused, stay close to each other, share information, and if we do that, we will increase our chances of coming out of this with a pretty good outcome.”

On Thursday, U.S. President Trump abruptly posted on Truth Social that he was ending all trade negotiations with Canada in response to an anti-tariff advertisement by Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government.

The ad featured the voice of former Republican U.S. president Ronald Reagan arguing against protectionism, which Trump denounced as fake and fraudulent. The Ronald Reagan Foundation also said on X the ad “misrepresents” a radio address on free and fair trade from April 1987.

Two days later, Trump announced he will raise U.S. tariffs on Canada by an additional 10 per cent, although it’s unclear when those levies would come into effect.

Though Ontario paused its U.S. advertising campaign on Monday, Ford continues to defend the video, telling reporters the only reason Trump is so upset is because the ad—which he said on Tuesday had garnered 11.4 billion views—was effective.

A federal government source would not confirm or deny to CTV News whether Carney or his chief of staff saw the Ontario ad in advance, as Ford had claimed happened, writing the “decision was made by the Government of Ontario, and the federal government was not involved in the production or distribution of this ad.”

When asked by Kapelos about the importance of federal and provincial governments speaking with one voice, Charest said he was not offended by the ad and no one could have anticipated Trump would react the way he did.

“If it’s a distraction to the American administration, well, so be it. Let’s not lose sight of the real objective for us, which is securing the future of this trading agreement and not react every time the American administration or president says something,” he said, adding Canada needs to be “smart on how we do things. They are 10 times bigger. But I think that we’ve been here before.”

When it comes to a trade deal, Carney did not dismiss the possibility for a new sectoral tariff deal with the U.S. before trade talks were halted, saying “we’ll see” when asked last week whether Canada can expect an agreement on sectoral tariffs by this month’s APEC summit.

Carney had previously signalled Canada is hoping to secure deals on specific sectors, namely steel, aluminum, copper, autos, and lumber.

Asked by Kapelos if he thinks there could be schisms between the provinces and federal government based on certain sectors, Charest said regional interests may differ from one place to the other, as is true for every other country in the world.

“Let’s not be too obsessed by that. Premiers will defend their provinces as they should,” he said. “In the end, the overall interest of Canada will prevail and I’m very confident that we’ll be able to arrive at a common approach that will be in everyone’s benefit.”

Meanwhile, Charest noted on the U.S. side he is hearing more people in the business community speak up against Trump’s tariffs as inflation settles in and costs increase. With the United States mid-terms about a year away, he added he believes more voices will join that chorus.

“The most effective influence on President Trump are Americans, not Canadians, and so we do need our allies to speak up,” he said.

You can watch CTV Power Play’s full interview with former Quebec Premier Jean Charest at the top of this article.

With files from CTV News’ Stephanie Ha and Spencer Van Dyk