U.S. President Donald Trump says his country does not need to import Canadian oil, gas, autos or lumber.
“We’re going to be demanding respect from other nations ... Canada has been very tough to deal with over the years,” he told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, appearing via video conference before an audience of the world’s most powerful business and political leaders.
“We don’t need them to make our cars, and they make a lot of them. We don’t need their lumber because we have our own forests,” he continued. “We don’t need their oil and gas, we have more than anybody.”
Trump also reiterated his suggestion that Canada could become part of the U.S., calling it an escape route from the sweeping 25 per cent tariffs he said he could impose by Feb. 1. That threat has loomed large over the Canadian business and political classes for months. Ottawa has warned Trump that if he follows through, Canada’s response will be sharp.
If the United States were to wean itself off of Canadian exports, it would upend the established trade relationship between the two countries.
For example, Canada supplies the lion’s share of the United State’s crude oil imports – more than the rest of the world combined. In 2023, 60 per cent of the crude oil imported to the United States came from north of the border, according to the Government of Canada. As for natural gas, Canada provided 99 per cent of U.S.’s imported supply that year.
Some $3.6 billion in goods cross the border every day, according to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. The U.S.-Canada trade relationship is directly related to 3.7 million jobs between the two countries.
Business experts have warned that a trade war could lead to hundreds of thousands of layoffs across Canada.
Scott Crockatt, vice president of the Business Council of Alberta, said 25 per cent tariffs would be “devastating” for the country, and David Adams, CEO of Global Automakers of Canada, told CTV News Channel Wednesday that auto production facilities could face closures if the tariff environment becomes too challenging.
Canada is a ‘trustworthy’ partner: Trudeau
Speaking to reporters in the halls of Parliament’s West Block, Trudeau said Canada is “ready to respond in a strong way, but in a way that will be stepping up, gradually.”
The prime minister, who was on his way to national caucus meeting to discuss, in part, Trump’s tariff threat, has kept Canada’s retaliation plans largely under wraps.
He has repeatedly said all options are on the table – including a dollar-for-dollar counter-tariff – though the country is expected to focus on key industries that will affect Trump’s voting base; think: Florida orange juice, or spirits from Republican states in the south.
If the U.S. wages a trade war, “two things will happen,” said Trudeau. Firstly, Canada will have a “strong, robust response,” and “prices for American consumers on just about everything will go up.”
“I don't think he wants that,” the prime minister said.
