Poilievre promises to push to end U.S. tariffs, stand with autoworkers

KINGSTON, Ont. – Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre began his speech to an enthusiastic crowd of supporters in Kingston, Ont., on Wednesday evening with a pledge to stand with autoworkers and to push to end U.S. tariffs after yet another day of uncertainty brought on by Donald Trump. 

“For decades, workers on both sides of the border locked arms to build the greatest auto sector in the world,” Poilievre said. 

“The president is betraying America’s closest friend and attacking our economy, proving once again that Canada must end its era of overdependence and weakness.” 

Poilievre pivoted to his typical rally speech with a promise that Conservatives will push hard to end the tariffs and get a fair deal with the United States, saying that in order to do that, he needs help to elect Conservative candidates like Bryan Paterson. 

Paterson, who is on a leave of absence from his role as mayor of Kingston, is running against Liberal incumbent Mark Gerretsen, his predecessor, in Kingston and the Islands. 

The crowd cheered and jeered on cue when Poilievre attacked Gerretsen, saying “he’s been trying desperately to get in cabinet for a decade.” 

The crowd of supporters included Earl Wallace and Angela Allen-Wallace, who drove from nearby Bath, Ont., to attend. 

While Wallace is a longtime Conservative, Allen-Wallace said she voted NDP until the death of former leader Jack Layton. Then, Poilievre brought her onto Team Tory.

“As far as I’m concerned, the NDP is irrelevant,” she said. “They don’t really have anything to say for themselves.”

They’re both concerned about economic issues in this election. 

“Reducing unnecessary spending, get the deficit down, reducing taxes,” said Wallace, a military veteran. 

The couple said they were surprised at the large turnout in a traditionally Liberal riding. 

Rally attendees were greeted by a couple of dozen protesters with signs that compared Poilievre to Trump, including one that called on Poilievre to “axe the divisive politics.” The two groups shouted at one another from time to time as rally-goers waited in long lines to get inside. 

Earlier in the day, Poilievre rolled out his plan to address the trade war in a speech in Toronto, ahead of the White House announcement regarding a new wave of reciprocal tariffs.

Poilievre said that if he becomes prime minister after the federal election on April 28, he will propose an early renegotiation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement ahead of its planned revision in 2026.

“Why wait? Why not get it done now? Why not end the uncertainty that is paralyzing both sides of the border?” Poilievre said.

He said Canada would seek a pause on all tariffs during those negotiations.

The trade deal, often referred to in Canada as CUSMA, was negotiated during Trump’s first term and is up for review in 2026. Many trade experts have said Trump’s tariffs have effectively suspended much of that agreement.

Steve Verheul — Canada’s chief negotiator on CUSMA — and his former counterpart Ken Smith Ramos of Mexico said last month that Trump’s actions have blown “a hole” in the trade deal.

Last week, Liberal Leader Mark Carney spoke by phone with Trump for the first time since being sworn in as prime minister on March 14. The two agreed that Canada and the U.S. would begin talks after the Canadian election toward a new economic and security pact.

Poilievre was asked by reporters what efforts he had made to establish relationships with the Trump administration. He said he has been operating by “the rule of one prime minister at a time.”

“Though I disagree strongly with both prime ministers Trudeau and Carney, they occupy that office. And I’ve been very careful not to do anything to divide Canada’s voice when communicating with the executive branch of the United States government,” he said. “And so that’s why I have not contacted anyone in the U.S. executive administration.”

Poilievre did not answer when asked whether he had tapped Jamil Jivani, Conservative candidate and incumbent MP for Durham, to reach out to his longtime friend U.S. Vice-President JD Vance.

Jivani and Vance had dinner together in December before Trump returned to office for his second term. Jivani told The Canadian Press he stressed during that conversation the importance of a strong relationship between the two trading partners.

Poilievre on Wednesday also laid out a series of “red lines” he said he would set in advance of any negotiations with Trump.

Those include securing the border, protecting farmers under supply management and workers in the automobile industry, retaining rights to Canada’s water and other natural resources, and maintaining the Canadian dollar, official languages and Indigenous rights.

“Canada will, obviously, never be the 51st state,” Poilievre said.

“This is non-negotiable. We will protect Canada’s sovereignty in any negotiations.”

Poilievre also said that any “extra revenue generated from expanded trade with the United States will go right into our armed forces,” adding that Canada would hit the NATO target of spending two per cent of GDP on defence.

This extra spending would help to secure Canada’s North and the surrounding Arctic waters, he said.

Poilievre said a new trade agreement with the U.S. would be “ideal,” but Canada must also focus on building an economy that is no longer reliant on its largest trading partner.

“We need a long-term plan to build our economic fortress in Canada so we are never vulnerable to these kinds of threats again,” he said.

Poilievre said that if Trump moves forward with tariffs, he would support retaliatory tariffs targeting U.S. goods that Canada produces or can source elsewhere.

The Conservatives are also promising a temporary loan program for businesses affected by tariffs to keep their employees working during the trade dispute.

Poilievre was asked about the size and scope of the proposed fund. He said its magnitude would depend on how steep the tariffs turn out to be.

“The smaller the tariffs, the smaller the fund. The bigger the tariffs, the bigger the fund,” he said.

Trump unveiled Wednesday a 10 per cent baseline tariff on imports from most countries and a lengthy list of tariff levels dozens will face. 

A White House fact sheet said goods imported under CUSMA still do not face tariffs, though imports that fall outside the continental trade pact will be hit with 25 per cent levies.

Trump also said he is going ahead with previously announced 25 per cent tariffs on automobile imports, which will add to existing 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., including from Canada.

Both Canada and Mexico remain under threat of economywide duties the president has linked to the flow of fentanyl across the borders.

In early March, Trump imposed — and then partially paused — 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on Canada and Mexico, with a lower 10 per cent levy on energy and potash.

Controversial statements from the past have come back to haunt two major parties on the federal election trail this week, with the Liberals losing one candidate and the Conservatives saying goodbye to four.

The Conservative party said Wednesday that Don Patel, who was running in Etobicoke North was no longer a candidate after engaging with a comment on social media that suggested that some people should be deported to India and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should “take care” of them.

“Endorsing such a statement is clearly unacceptable,” a Conservative campaign spokesperson said in a statement. “The Conservative party will always stand up for the safety and security of Canadians.”

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The Conservatives also recently dropped Mark McKenzie, who joked that former prime minister Justin Trudeau should be executed, and Stefan Marquis, whose online posts included claims that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was provoked by the expansion of NATO.

On Tuesday night, a Conservative campaign spokesperson said another candidate, Lourence Singh, had been dropped but did not provide a reason.

Liberal incumbent Paul Chiang bowed out of the campaign late Monday after suggesting that another candidate could be turned over to Chinese officials in exchange for a bounty.

—Written by Craig Lord in Ottawa, Sharif Hassan in Toronto and Sarah Ritchie in Kingston, Ont., with files from Kelly Geraldine Malone in Washington.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2025.