OTTAWA: New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh in a latest post tore into US President-elect Donald Trump over his repeated threats of tariffs and proposing a merger between the two countries.
The former ally of outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canada is “not for sale” and that Canadians are “ready to fight like hell” to protect the sovereignty of the country.
“I have a message for Donald Trump. Our country is not for sale, not now, not ever,” he said in a video on X, with just a week to go before Trump takes office.
The NDP leader said: “I lived across the country and I can tell you Canadians are a proud people. We’re proud of our country, and we’re ready to fight like hell to defend it. Right now, with the forest fires, ravaging homes, Canadian firefighters showed up. That’s who we are, we show up and support our neighbours.”
“If Donald Trump thinks he can pick a fight with us, there would be a price to pay. I have committed that if Donald Trump imposes tariffs on us, we should respond with retaliatory tariffs in kind. I think anyone running as PM should do the same,” he added.
Trump has proposed the neighbouring country to become the 51st state of the United States, mocking Prime Minister Trudeau by calling him “Governor”.
Earlier, too, Singh had said: “That’s how you respond to a bully with strength. You fight fire with fire to protect Canadian workers and their jobs.” “There is not a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada will merge with the United States,” Trudeau had said earlier this month.
Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly, who had shown her keenness to run for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, backed out citing the need to focus on addressing international challenges, including economic pressures and tariff threats from the President-elect of the US, Donald Trump.
Sharing a letter on X, Joly wrote, “Over the past week, I have spoken with dozens of friends, colleagues and close advisors; many of whom have encouraged me to run for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. While I know I am ready to become the first woman to lead the Liberal Party of Canada, I must also recognise that the current international situation, especially the unjustified threat of tariffs and other economic pressures from the President-elect of the United States, requires a firm and urgent response. This is happening now.”
The letter added, “As Minister of Foreign Affairs, I must dedicate every minute of my time and all my energy to defending the interests of Canadians. Which is exactly what I am doing and will continue to do.” Meanwhile, Canada is preparing to retaliate with an exhaustive list of tariffs on American goods if President-elect Donald Trump follows through with his plans to add a steep 25 per cent import tax on Canadian goods, people familiar with the matter said.
Canadian officials are working on a list of dozens of American products that the United States exports to Canada, targeting items that both send a political message and inflict a reasonable amount of economic damage, two sources said.
According to reports, Canada is the United States’ largest trading partner. The United States imported USD 419 billion worth of Canadian goods in 2023. Canada is also the largest source of foreign oil into the United States.