Chrystia Freeland warns of Trump's 'existential risk' to Canada in campaign launch
Source: The Guardian
Sun 19 Jan 2025 16.02 EST
Last modified on Sun 19 Jan 2025 19.27 EST
Chrystia Freeland has warned of the “existential risk” to Canada posed by Donald Trump, casting herself as a “battle tested leader with the scars to prove it” during the formal launch of her bid to be the country’s next prime minister.
Freeland, who has presented herself as the figure most capable of negotiating with a protectionist and unpredictable White House, held her formal campaign launch the day before the incoming president’s inauguration and pledged “dollar to dollar” retaliation for any tariffs that would amount to the “largest trade blow the US has ever endured”.
Speaking at her campaign launch in Toronto on Sunday, she warned prospective voters that “the stakes are just too damn high”, boasting that Trump disliked her because she had been “fierce, resolute and have been effective in defending Canada”. As part of a raft of protectionist trade measures, Trump has threatened to hit Canada with 25% tariffs on all goods.
“I have a message for Trump: We are your neighbour and most important trading partner,” said Freeland. “But if the fight comes to our door, just remember we love our country as much as you love yours…. Canada will not escalate. But if I’m prime minister, Canada will never back down.”
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/19/canada-chrystia-freeland-campaign-launch
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