Prime Minister Mark Carney says the latest round of tariffs against the U.S. will hurt, but we will come out stronger on the other side.
In a video posted online Tuesday morning, Mark Carney says turning away from the Americans will come at a cost.
“With the resilient economy in the strongest fiscal position in the G7, we have everything we need to pivot and prosper. That pivot will come at a cost. There’s always a cost to action. But it doesn’t come close to the cost of standing still,” says Carney.
The new tariff covers about $27 billion worth of goods entering Canada from the states and matches tariffs imposed by the U.S. government.
Carney adds that the Americans tried 50 per cent tariffs in the 1890s. Will McKinley, congressman, championed the Tariff Act of 1890.
But it ended up strengthening the Canadian economy as our country diverted trade to other places, Carney says, and the U.S. ended up with four years of economic depression.
He went on to highlight how, when Canada became its own country, Prime Minister Sir John A. MacDonald built a rail line from the Atlantic to the Pacific and how, a century later, the Trans-Canada Highway would do the same.
“Canada is a nation forged in adversity, a country that prides itself on doing what’s right, not what’s easy, a nation that knows we’re always stronger together. Canada came to life in many ways in response to American aggression,” he says.
The federal government has announced tariff relief measures for hard-hit businesses and people.
Carney says that is because some are being deliberately targeted by the tariffs by the Americans and will feel it worse than others.
They have set aside $7.5 billion for relief measures.
Carney says we are better prepared now than we were a year and a half ago.
“This is about who we are as Canadians,” he says.
“It’s about making Canada strong, and it’s about the compassion that makes us who we really are. The truth is, adversity only makes us stronger. It always has.”
