Cracks in unified ‘Team Canada’ approach showing

Prime Minister Mark Carney met with premiers to talk tariffs and the ongoing trade war with the U.S. Here’s what happened.

Prime Minister Mark Carney talked tariffs with Canada’s premiers in a virtual meeting Wednesday.

But not all premiers and provinces are on the same page when it comes to responding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war. Ontario’s Doug Ford continues to push for an “elbows up” approach.

“I still stand by what I say: Dollar for dollar, tariff for tariff. They understand strength not weakness,” said Ford.

Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe has pushed for removing Canadian counter-tariffs on all U.S. goods.

“We have some that believe we should go dollar-for-dollar tariffs, we have some that want us to roll over and play dead,” said B.C. Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon on Wednesday.

For its part, B.C. is seemingly somewhere in between, keeping its U.S. booze ban in place, but not advocating dollar-for-dollar tariffs.

“We do agree that dealing in strength is important, but that strength comes not by yelling at the U.S. government, but from strengthening our economy,” said Kahlon, speaking on behalf of the province.

Some say the country-wide resolve has been worn down as the trade war continues unabated.

“As this has dragged on with no obvious resolution in sight, some of that determination is flagging a bit,” said David McLaughlin, who was once chief of staff to former prime minister Brian Mulroney, in an interview with CTV News Wednesday.

With Trump’s Aug. 1 deadline for a deal between Canada and the U.S. passed, Ford emerged from Wednesday’s meeting with a cautious message.

“I’m praying that everything goes fine,” he said. “I gotta ask the people, ‘Do you trust President Trump?’ I don’t.”

Kahlon expressed support Wednesday for not rushing into a deal, but getting the right one. He also voiced skepticism that one could be reached at all.

“I’m not confident that we’ll have a deal, and even if we do, I’m not confident that (Trump) won’t wake up the next morning and put out a tweet that will have new sanctions put in place or new tariffs put in place,” Kahlon said.