The Conservative MP for Windsor West says 'uncertainty' is one of the hardest parts when it comes to the tariffs imposed on Canada by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Harb Gill says no business can thrive with uncertainty.
Trump signed an executive order on July 31, raising tariffs from 25 to 35 per cent, saying Canada has failed to do more in the fight against fentanyl drug trafficking at the border.
The decision comes amid ongoing talks between Ottawa and Washington toward a new trade agreement.
Gill says he hopes the federal government delivers on the promises they made when it comes to a trade deal with the U.S.
"Our government, the Liberal government in power, has promised us various things, and that was the promise on which they came to power. I'm hoping they can produce something on the promises that they made because so far, we are not seeing those," he says.
Gill says we can't change our geography here; we're tied to our friends in Michigan and Ohio as our biggest trading partners, so we have to find a way to connect with them during these times.
"Both having a way to sustain ourselves and each other. You can't just have it so only I can eat and nobody else can eat. That philosophy doesn't work," he says. "We have to find partnerships; we have to build relationships. We thought we had those relationships, honestly."
Gill says in the end, he wants the people here to have better opportunities than anywhere else in Canada.
"We have the workforce. We are a manufacturing powerhouse. We have the greenhouses. We have people ready and willing to work. We just need those opportunities," he says.
The increased tariffs will impact goods outside of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
Gill says they will continue to do whatever they can to support the negotiations that are taking place but also hold the government accountable and provide solutions to reach an agreement, because at the end of the day we're all Canadians.