Kinew pledges unity in responding to trade war

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Canada’s premiers are “100 per cent behind” Prime Minister Mark Carney as he moves to enact retaliatory tariffs after a breakdown in trade negotiations with the United States.

Kinew spoke with media at the Manitoba legislature, about an hour after a call with Carney and the other premiers.

“There was a really, really strong sense of unity,” Kinew said. “You’ve heard from many of those leaders by now. So, I just wanted to say very, very clearly, the government of Manitoba is 100 per cent behind the prime minister’s direction to retaliate against Donald Trump’s unjustified and immoral tariffs that are going to make life more expensive, yet again, for Americans.”

Kinew said Manitoba will be working closely with the federal government and the provincial U.S. trade council in the coming days, to develop a plan to deal with the effects of the looming tariffs.

“History will not be kind to Donald Trump, so we should never appease it,” Kinew said. “We should fight back, which is what Canada is doing today.”