Accusations fly over Trump tariffs as legislature gets back to business

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This article was published 05/03/2025 (238 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff attack on Canada became fodder for accusations traded by politicians who returned to the Manitoba legislature Wednesday following the winter break.

The tone quickly turned nasty as acrimony overshadowed questions about the response to the Canada-U.S. trade war and the government’s legislative agenda.

Progressive Conservative MLA Josh Guenter was heckled as he decried federal and provincial policies, saying “it’s no wonder” 43 per cent of members of his generation (18- to 34-year-olds) surveyed by Ipsos-Reid recently have “no issue” with becoming the 51st state of the U.S. if they were offered U.S. citizenship and conversion of Canadian financial assets to U.S. dollars.

“Today, Canadian household debt is 85 per cent higher than American household debt, and the average Canadian earns 30 per cent less than his American counterpart,” Guenter said.

“I love Canada and it makes me angry to see my country in this state.”

That prompted Premier Wab Kinew to respond: “The so-called leader of the PCs just let one of their caucus members stand up in this sacred chamber and talk about Canadians becoming Americans.”

When Wayne Ewasko, the interim leader of the Progressive Conservatives, asked what the government intends to do to protect Manitoba jobs and sectors threatened by 25 per cent tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Canadian exports, Kinew went after the Tories, who are in the midst of a leadership campaign, to be decided April 26.

“We stand against Donald Trump’s tariff tax… Are we ever lucky the PCs aren’t in charge,” he said during question period.

“The PCs are wanting to cosy up to Donald Trump,” the premier alleged.

He slammed the party and Ewasko for allowing a PC caucus member to talk about “Canadians becoming Americans,” referring to Guenter’s private member’s statement. “Not under my watch,” he said.

The premier went after PC leadership candidates Wally Daudrich and Fort Whyte MLA Obby Khan. He said Daudrich endorsed Trump’s bid for the presidency and that Khan “thanked” Trump for the tariffs, referring to a podcast interview he gave in February.

Khan fought back in the chamber, telling the Speaker that Kinew “intentionally and maliciously” misquoted him in the house, “in a clear attempt to disparage me.”

“The premier chose to cherry-pick and omit lines from the quote… (and) took great liberties to mislead this house and Manitobans,” said Khan, who asked for an apology as he insisted he doesn’t support Trump’s tariffs.

He read from a transcript of the interview: “One of his (Trump’s) clear wins… was a change in federal government… Justin Trudeau is gone now. Thank God he’s gone.”

When the interviewer asked how much influence the tariff threat had on Trudeau’s leaving, Khan said “a lot. And I would say thank you… he’s gone now. Now we just need to get rid of Wab (Kinew) and unleash Manitoba.”

Government house leader Nahanni Fontaine refused to apologize, saying Khan shouldn’t have thanked Trump for influencing the federal election.

Ewasko accused the premier of slander and called him out for refusing to take part in an urgent debate on the U.S. tariffs or talk about Manitobans dealing with the high rate of food inflation and how the province should navigate the trade war that threatens thousands of jobs.

Kinew has pulled U.S. alcohol products from liquor stores, launched a “buy local” ad campaign, and offered tax relief to employers hurt by the tariffs. He has floated other possibilities, including restricting U.S. companies from winning contracts with the provincial government, but has not acted to date.

“We have a premier that has completely failed to produce a plan to address the tariffs,” Ewasko said.

Kinew has said further measures could be announced this week.

Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods Tuesday, along with 10 per cent levies on energy.

Trudeau has announced he is resigning and federal Liberals will vote this weekend on a new leader.

The New Democrats introduced several bills Wednesday that will debated in the spring sitting.

One will prevent additional convenience stores from getting licences to serve alcohol in dining areas, as two in Winnipeg have recently started doing. Another bill would prevent any new licences for gas stations and convenience stores to sell cannabis.

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said the aim is to limit new retail outlets to places where only adults are allowed.

“We don’t want our children exposed to this,” he said.

Another bill would require pipeline operators to quickly report any shutdowns caused by emergencies. Imperial Oil shut down a pipeline last year because of safety concerns, prompting gasoline to be shipped by truck and raising fears of shortages.

— with files from The Canadian Press

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol.

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