U.S. President Donald Trump used his World Economic Forum special address to say that his administration could do without Canadian energy or imports from its auto and lumber sectors.
Trump said that Canada has been very “tough to deal with” while speaking before the World Economic Forum, an elite summit of the world’s political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland.
“We’re going to be demanding respect from other nations … Canada has been very tough to deal with over the years,” he said in a speech on Thursday.
“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.”
“If you’re a state, we won’t have a deficit. We won’t have to tariff you.”
— True North (@TrueNorthCentre) January 23, 2025
President Donald Trump says the U.S. doesn’t need Canadian cars, lumber, or energy due to its own abundant resources. pic.twitter.com/rvpCfah8b6
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce calculated that approximately $3.6 billion in goods cross the border every day, facilitating a trade relationship between Canada and the U.S. that accounts for across both countries. The sectors Trump mentioned are among the top exports Canada sends to the U.S.
Trump went on to cover familiar ground that the offer remained for Canada to join the U.S. as the 51st state.
He said that under those circumstances the country could avoid its deficit with the U.S. and evade his proposed 25% import tariff on all Canadian goods slated to take effect Feb. 1.
Economists have warned that a trade war with the U.S. would likely lead to hundreds of thousands of workers being in Canada being laid off.
Ottawa has pledged to respond with sweeping retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports, potentially ending a longstanding amicable trade relationship between the two nations.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Thursday that Canada is “ready to respond in a strong way, but in a way that will be stepping up, gradually.”
He said that “two things will happen,” as a result of a trade war with the U.S., the first being Canada’s “strong, robust response,” followed by “prices for American consumers on just about everything” increasing.
“I don’t think he wants that,” said Trudeau.
The prime minister said that if Trump is sincere about ushering the U.S. into a new golden age, he would require “more of the things that Canada is already sending them as a reliable and trustworthy partner.”
“If you don’t make your product in America … you will have to pay a tariff. Differing amounts, but a tariff which will direct hundreds of billions of dollars and even trillions of dollars into our treasury.”
— True North (@TrueNorthCentre) January 23, 2025
President Donald Trump emphasizes an “America First” approach, urging… pic.twitter.com/NBcWXNUsDO
Canada currently supplies the bulk crude oil imports south of the border where it is then refined, accounting for 60% of all U.S. production in 2023 and 99% of its natural gas.
As for the auto sector, Canada exported 92% of vehicles manufactured domestically to the U.S. in 2022, according to data from the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association.
That’s not including auto parts, which cross borders back and forth from Canada to Mexico multiple times in the assembly process.
Softwood lumber is another major Canadian export and an industry valued at over $45 billion from the U.S. market alone in 2022, according to Statistics Canada.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called on Trudeau to reconvene Parliament immediately on Tuesday, citing a national “emergency” due to the tariff threat.
“Liberals have shut Parliament in the middle of this crisis. Canada has never been so weak, and things have never been so out of control,” he said. “Liberals are putting themselves and their leadership politics ahead of the country. Freeland and Carney are fighting for power rather than fighting for Canada.”
The Conservatives are urging Trudeau to reopen Parliament so that new border controls can be passed, along with trade retaliation agreements and a plan to revive Canada’s economy.
