OTTAWA — Several of Canada's premiers called for the elimination of interprovincial trade barriers on Friday ahead of a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Carney was meeting with premiers at the Canadian War Museum Friday afternoon to discuss the federal government's response to Chinese and U.S. tariffs.
Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said "we need a united Canada."
He said U.S. President Donald Trump doesn't respect weakness and that Canada needs to unite and "work hard" to end Trump's trade war. He said the provinces should start dismantling interprovincial trade barriers now.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Canada is fighting a trade war on two fronts and needs a solid economic plan.
"America is our closest neighbour and a really close ally so whatever we do with the PRC (People’s Republic of China) also has to make sense in terms of the engagement that we have with the U.S.," he said.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who attended the meeting virtually, said Thursday that his priority for the meeting with Carney is to discuss China's tariffs on Canadian canola oil and meal.
Beijing imposed the tariffs in response to Canada's levies on Chinese-made electric vehicles, steel and aluminum.
"(This is) the most urgent and the most immediate (tariff) that needs action," Moe told reporters in Regina. "I don’t know if we can solve it but we ought to try, and I would ask the prime minister to make that phone call (to China) before you go to an election."
New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said she was excited to be talking about ways to "blow up" interprovincial trade barriers.
She said Canada's leaders need to continue engaging with the threat of tariffs during the coming federal election, especially with Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs, which are expected to land on April 2.
"We can't drop the ball during this critical time," she said.
The meeting is taking place just days before Carney is expected to launch a federal election campaign that would send Canadians to the polls as soon as April 28.
Carney did not stop to speak with reporters on his way into the meeting. He walked in with Minister of International Trade and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc and Minister of Transport and Internal Trade Chrystia Freeland.
None of the premiers endorsed any federal party leader and most said they'd be happy to work with any prime minister chosen by Canadians.
Holt said that while she hasn't met Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, she thought Carney would be a good negotiator with Trump due to his intelligence and "passion" for Canada.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, Métis National Council President Victoria Pruden and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Natan Obed met with Carney virtually ahead of Friday's meeting.
In an interview after the meeting, Woodhouse Nepinak said they discussed the “Team Canada approach” while insisting that First Nations cannot be left out of decisions on how the country moves forward.
Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai said before the meeting that the Arctic has "become a focus" and he wants to see all political parties commit to Canada's North.
Before the meeting, Quebec Premier François Legault told reporters that the premiers must discuss ways to protect workers from Trump’s trade war.
He said Canada's counter-tariffs must be crafted to ensure they maximize negative effects on American businesses while minimizing impacts on Canadian businesses. He said U.S. tariffs are hurting many Quebec companies already.
Legault said he’s open to pipeline projects and that public opinion on such projects has shifted due to the trade war, but he insisted that there needs to be “social acceptance” in Quebec before going forward.
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau's final meetings with premiers, which took place before Carney was sworn in on March 14, focused on U.S. tariffs.
Trump's trade war escalated last week when Washington imposed 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports entering the country, prompting Canada to expand its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.
Trump also has repeatedly called for Canada to become a U.S. state.
- With files from Anja Karadeglija, Alessia Passafiume and Allison Jones in Toronto
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2025.
Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press
