‘We have to be very cautious’: Former Tory leader Erin O’Toole’s advice to PM Carney on China

Erin O'Toole, former Conservative Party of Canada leader, is seen in Ottawa, on Friday, May 16, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole is cautioning the prime minister that despite the need to diversify trade, China is not a substitute for the United States.

O’Toole has been tapped to join Prime Minister Mark Carney’s 24-member Canada-U.S. Advisory Committee, unveiled this week as a formal review of the countries’ trilateral trade deal with Mexico fast approaches.

More than a year into a protracted trade war with the United States, meanwhile, Carney is once again emphasizing a shift in the relationship with Canada’s closest neighbour, describing Canada’s ties to the U.S. as a “weakness” in a social media video last Sunday.

Through several international trips in the last year, Carney has also moved to deepen ties with other allies, specifically in Europe. And, despite previously fraught relationships, Carney has moved to reset relations with both China and India with the goal of boosting trade.

On a trip to China in January, Carney inked a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping to allow up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) into the Canadian market in exchange for a reduction in tariffs on agricultural products. Chinese EVs previously faced 100 per cent tariffs in Canada, in a move by then-prime minister Justin Trudeau in 2024 that was meant to align with the United States.

“I have been publicly critical of that part of the prime minister’s trip,” O’Toole told CTV Question Period host Vassy Kapelos in an interview airing Sunday, when asked about Carney’s decision to allow some Chinese EVs into Canada. “I thought it was good that (Carney) went to China. It’s critical for our agricultural exports and Western Canada, and they needed to see that.”

“But the substitute for a great American partner is not China,” he also said, adding Canada should be aligned with the U.S. when it comes to China as part of a unified North American front.

“We have to be very cautious with China,” he said.

In a speech back in February, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also said China is “no substitute” for the United States.

O’Toole prepared to push back in advisory council discussions

As the July 1 deadline to launch a review of the Canada-U.S. Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) approaches, American officials this week took aim at Canada.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said there is a gap between the Canada and U.S. administrations’ trade philosophies, and threatened enforcement action on the ongoing booze ban in several provinces.

And U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Canada treats the U.S. unfairly “at every margin they possibly can.”

In his new capacity on the advisory committee, O’Toole said he’s prepared to push back in the discussions, and that he believes it’s “part of the reason” he was asked to join the group.

He said he’s committed to bringing a conservative voice to the council so it can be a true “best effort Team Canada,” and he’s been assured it “is a substantive, serious exercise.”

“I think I’m going to be disagreeing with some of their policies, and I think that’s what they want,” he said, adding a “diversity of voices and viewpoints” will strengthen Canada’s negotiating team.

Support for Poilievre as Conservative leader

Kapelos also asked O’Toole about Poilievre and recent questions surrounding his leadership.

Despite languishing in the polls on the preferred prime minister question and losing four MPs to the Liberals since last November, Poilievre has insisted he’s staying on at the helm of the party.

Asked if he has O’Toole’s support, the former leader didn’t hesitate: “Yes.”

“He’s got remarkable support within the party, and has set the policy agenda,” O’Toole said.

“I think the stability of a majority (government) will actually, I think, be helpful for Pierre to build up (and) repair,” he added. “The role of the Opposition is to hold the government to account. I want them to hold them to account.”

You can watch former Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole’s full interview on CTV Question Period Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.