Trudeau calls on Poilievre to say if he stands with Canada, or Danielle Smith and Donald Trump

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a first ministers meeting in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

With U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s threat to hit Canada with a 25 per cent import tariff within days, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says if Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre wants his job, he “has a choice to make.”

“Either he stands up to fight for all Canadians alongside all premiers and the federal government that are doing that, or he chooses to stand with Danielle Smith, Kevin O’Leary, and ultimately, Donald Trump,” Trudeau said during a scrum while visiting a steel manufacturing company in Windsor, Ont., a reference to the Alberta premier’s weekend visit to Mar-A-Lago.

His comments come after Poilievre accused Trudeau earlier on Thursday of dividing Canadians with his tariff response plan when asked to comment on Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s opposition to it.

Trudeau met with all of Canada’s provincial and territorial leaders on Wednesday to discuss Canada’s response plan to the anticipated levying of a massive tariff on Canadian goods by the incoming U.S. administration.

They emerged from the hours-long meeting largely, but not unanimously, united around the plan to leave all options on the table, including targeting a list of American goods with retaliatory counter-tariffs, blocking energy exports, and considering ways to distribute revenues from any Canadian retaliation to impacted sectors.

While Trudeau and other premiers have sought to double-down on presenting a unified “Team Canada” front in the face of Trump’s massive economic threat, Smith was the one outlier in accepting the federal government’s plan.

Smith refused to sign the joint statement issued by all other premiers, and came out of the meeting — which she attended virtually from her vacation — stating that she couldn’t support an approach that leaves energy export tariffs to the United States on the table.

“Alberta will simply not agree to export tariffs on our energy or other products, nor do we support a ban on exports of these same products. We will take whatever actions are needed to protect the livelihoods of Albertans from such destructive federal policies,” Smith said in a social media post.

Responding to Smith’s stance, Trudeau said he doesn’t blame her for standing up for her province, but noted all other premiers “chose to put Canada first.”

“What happens to any part of us happens to all of us, and we will be there to respond strongly, to fight for Canada, and to do it in a united way that makes sure that it’s fair across all industries, across all regions,” Trudeau said.

“We’re going to continue to explain to Americans that bringing in tariffs on goods from Canada is basically raising prices on American consumers,” Trudeau said. “Nobody wants that. But if indeed the incoming administration moves forward with these unfair and unjust tariffs, Canada will respond.”

Poilievre dodges on Trump tariff response plan

Asked repeatedly during a Thursday press conference to respond to Smith’s stance and whether he’d be willing to restrict energy exports, Pierre Poilievre wouldn’t say whether it’s an approach he supports.

Instead, the federal Conservative leader accused the Liberals of “trying to divide one province against another, Canadian against Canadian, right at our moment of maximum vulnerability.”

Poilievre said that he thinks the first thing Trump should do when he gets back into the Oval Office is “send a big bouquet of flowers to the Liberal government in Ottawa.”

He said that’s because they have “forced” Canadians to sell “almost all” our energy to the United States “at discount prices,” giving the Americans “massive leverage.”

“It’d be nice if we had pipelines and export terminals that could take our energy to Asia and Europe without going through the United States,” Poilievre said. “My approach will be exactly the opposite. I will quickly approve energy projects to send our energy to the rest of the world without relying on Americans.”

In his scrum following Poilievre’s comments, Trudeau pointed to the federal government’s purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion as an example of Canadian taxpayers standing up for Alberta.

Prior to Poilievre and Trudeau’s public comments, expected Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland issued a similar challenge to Poilievre in a post on social media, asking if he would “stand up for Canada, or stand with Danielle Smith?”

Trudeau strikes Canada-U.S. relations council

On Thursday, Trudeau announced the launch of a new Canada-U.S. relations council, comprised of 18 prominent Canadians.

Among the panellists are former Quebec premier Jean Charest, former Alberta premier Rachel Notley, and businessperson and past Dragons' Den investor Arlene Dickinson.

Unifor National President Lana Payne, Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association President Flavio Volpe, Canada’s top Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) trade negotiator Steve Verheul, and Trudeau’s former top national security adviser Jody Thomas are also on the panel, as are the CEOs of Cameco and Linamar.

“Comprised of leaders in business, innovation, and policy, the members of the Council will use their sectoral expertise to support the Prime Minister and Cabinet at this important time in the Canada-U.S. relationship,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

Canada’s ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman was part of Wednesday’s pan-Canadian meeting – and warned then that Canada has “not received an assurance” it can avoid tariffs – has also been named as a member of this new council.

Premiers on Smith, Trudeau’s plan

Smith’s solo rebuke drew a sharp response from other premiers, including Ontario’s Doug Ford, who came to the nation’s capital wearing a “Canada is not for sale” hat designed similarly to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” merchandise.

“I respect that she’s concerned about protecting her energy, and that’s her choice… I have a different theory,” Ford said. “Protect your jurisdiction, but country comes first.”

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey said that taking energy off the table would reduce Canada’s negotiation power, calling it a “really short-sighted view,” in an interview with CTV News' Chief Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos on Wednesday.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who heading into Wednesday’s meeting echoed Smith’s concerns about blocking energy exports being divisive and potentially sparking a national unity crisis, emerged from the meeting with a more congenial tone.

“Canadians can be thankful their 13 premiers, the prime minister, and a few federal ministers are coming together not only to hash out what those differences might be, but to understand where we can come together,” Moe said.

Smith’s predecessor Jason Kenney has emphasized Alberta’s natural resources as a key piece of Canada’s trade negotiations, suggesting governments should be ready to “retaliate in kind.”

Roughly four million barrels of Canadian oil go south every day, and in 2023, trade with the U.S. made up 89 per cent of Alberta’s exports, seeing $156.3 billion exported south according to the provincial government.

“Without that oil and gas, if they were to apply a 25 per cent tariff to Alberta and Canadian oil imports, it would massively increase prices at the pump for Americans who just voted for President Trump on his commitment to cut the gas prices in half,” Kenney told CTV News on Tuesday.

Smith has since doubled down on her stance, posting on “X” on Thursday her ideas for how to build “A real ‘Team Canada’ approach.”

Trudeau has vowed to meet with the premiers weekly, following Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.

With files from CTV News' Mike Le Couteur and CTV News Calgary’s Brendan Ellis