P.E.I. Premier Dennis King says the province’s concerns will be heard loud and clear when first ministers meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week to discuss the 25 per cent tariffs Donald Trump plans to impose on Canada when he becomes U.S. president again in January.
About 80 per cent of the Island’s exports go to the United States, representing about $1.8 billion a year.
Among the goods P.E.I. ships to the U.S. are lobster, potatoes, pharmaceuticals and bioscience products.
On Monday, Trump posted on social media that he would impose the tariffs on Canada and Mexico due to his concerns about illegal drugs and migrants entering the U.S. through its northern and southern borders. Trump was also critical of Canada’s failure to send NATO the equivalent of two per cent of its GDP to fund common defence initiatives.
In the legislature Tuesday, King said the tariffs are of “great concern” to the P.E.I. government. He said the country should be “talking the language our counterparts south of the border are talking” to address some of the concerns they have about the drug trade between Canada and the U.S.
“I think we need to increase NATO spending to two per cent, I think we need to increase our border patrol protection services in a big way and I think we need to indicate to them that we are serious about all of the cargo that leaves Canada.”
King said he will make the Island’s position clear when he and his fellow premiers meet with Trudeau Wednesday night.
“Ontario might have more population but there are 13 seats around the table and ours is equal and my voice will be as loud as the rest,” he said.
