Prime Minister Mark Carney promised to update the premiers on the state of trade talks with the U.S. as they sat down to meet in Ontario's cottage country Tuesday morning with an Aug. 1 deadline looming.
"As you are aware, our senior ministers, my chief of staff and myself are engaged in continuous discussions," Carney said as he began a meeting with the Council of the Federation in Huntsville, Ont.
The prime minister was invited to join the premiers, who gathered to talk about eliminating internal trade barriers and U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose 35 per cent tariffs on a wide variety of Canadian goods on Aug. 1.
Carney said Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be in Washington, D.C., over the next few days.
"We are looking for the best deal for Canada. We're only going to accept the best deal for Canada," he said.
He said Tuesday's gathering was a chance for the premiers to focus on ways to build a stronger economy. The Liberal government has passed legislation granting cabinet the power to fast-track major projects it deems to be in the national interest, and is set to open its major projects office by Labour Day.
Premiers have submitted their pitches for projects they'd like to see fast-tracked, but Carney has said the government has not yet started assembling a list of projects.
"We need you to work together to propose ideas and have consensus on the projects that you want to move forward," Carney said, adding that continuous engagement with Indigenous Peoples is a key part of that.
The premiers met with First Nations, Métis and Inuit leaders on Monday. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said she considered the meeting to be a sign of progress — though others, like Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler, said little was accomplished.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford also spoke at the beginning of Tuesday's meeting with Carney, which Indigenous leaders were not invited to attend.
Ford said he personally still wants Canada to match Trump's tariffs "dollar for dollar, and hit him back as hard as we possibly can," adding strength is the only thing this president understands.
He also said the federal government needs to be ready to support industries hit hard by the trade war, and Canada needs to onshore production of things like aluminum cans and steel beams to avoid tariffs.
"We need to send them a strong message. We don't have to take a back seat to anyone in the world, and we sure the heck don't have to take a back seat to President Trump," he said.
Ford, who chairs the Council of the Federation, also praised Carney for being a "brilliant businessman" and said it's refreshing for premiers to work with a prime minister who "has our backs."
Carney commended the premiers on the series of trade agreements they've signed to open up access to internal Canadian markets.
Earlier Tuesday morning, Ford joined the premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan in announcing a new memorandum of understanding calling for the construction of new pipelines using Ontario steel.
The agreement also calls for new rail lines to be built to help ship critical minerals from yet-to-be approved mines in Ontario's Ring of Fire region to Western Canada.
Ford calls the agreement a "game changer" that focuses on shipping Western oil to refineries in southern Ontario and a new deep sea port in James Bay.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she's heard from Carney that he wants to make Canada an energy superpower, and she wants him to drop "nine bad laws" she said are hurting the country's business investment climate.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said he wants to hear from Carney about how port capacity can be expanded to get more exports to overseas markets and reduce Canada's reliance on U.S. trade.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
