Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says Canada can’t be tariff ‘punching bag’

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says the government will take steps to protect jobs if President Donald Trump imposes tariffs.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Wednesday he still hopes Canada can avoid United States tariffs, but the country will have to respond strongly if U.S. President Donald Trump follows through on a threat to slap a 25 per cent charge on Canadian goods.

“If tariffs get applied, Canada’s response has to be noticed. We can’t be a punching bag,” Kinew told reporters.

“And we have to get our elbows up and let other folks know that we’re in the ring there too.”

Kinew stressed his preference for diplomacy, and said while many U.S. politicians don’t like tariffs, convincing Trump is a work in progress that might be achieved through recent upgrades to border security.

Kinew has so far kept details of Manitoba’s potential response to tariffs secret. He has promised to support businesses and individuals hurt by them, and went further Wednesday by saying the business help could include deferred tax payments.

“The thinking there is if we can help to just allow people to have a bit of a bridge to more economic stability in the future by delaying the collection of, say, retail sales tax or potentially corporate taxes, then that’s one concrete way that we could help.”

Kinew would not say what, if any, U.S. goods Manitoba might target in retaliation to tariffs.

Kelvin Goertzen, a legislature member for the Opposition Progressive Conservatives, said other provinces such as Ontario have laid out plans to ban U.S. alcohol imports or reduce energy exports as potential countermeasures. He said Manitoba should follow suit.

“We need to know what could those retaliatory measures be, so that Manitobans and others and industry could prepare themselves for that,” Goertzen said.

Goertzen raised the issue at a legislature committee Wednesday. He questioned officials with the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corp., who said about six per cent of the Crown corporation’s alcohol products comes from the United States. That includes 409 spirits, 341 wines and dozens of other products.

“If there was ever to be some decision that saw the removal of U.S.-based products, I believe Manitoban would still have lots of choice,” said Gerry Sul, the corporation’s president and chief executive officer.

The corporation pulled Russian products from its shelves in 2022 in response to that country’s invasion of Ukraine and the ban remains in effect.

Kinew revealed other plans Wednesday to deal with the tariff threat. The NDP government may launch a formal campaign soon to prompt Manitobans to buy local products, he said.

Kinew is also planning two meetings with Indigenous leaders to discuss their concerns surrounding trade with the U.S.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2025.