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TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that he would speak with U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming days after Trump announced 25% tariffs on auto imports.
Carney, who hasn't spoken with Trump since becoming Canada's new leader nearly two weeks ago, said that the U.S. president reached out Wednesday night to schedule a call.
“We will be speaking soon, certainly in the course of the next day or two," Carney said, adding that Trump has to respect Canada's sovereignty. "That’s not much to ask, but apparently it’s a lot for him," he said.
Trump has declared a trade war on Canada and continues to call for the United States' northern neighbor to become the 51st U.S. state, a position that has infuriated Canadians.
“It is clear that the United States is no longer a reliable partner. It is possible that, with comprehensive negotiations, we will be able to restore some trust, but there will be no turning back,” Carney said. “We will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States. We will need to pivot our trade relationships elsewhere."
The former central banker was sworn in as Canada's new prime minister on March 14. It's unusual for a U.S. president and Canadian prime minister to go so long without talking after a new leader takes office.
Carney, who replaced Justin Trudeau as Canada's leader and the head of the Liberal Party, is at the start of a five-week campaign after calling an early election for April 28.
The governing Liberals had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared a trade war and challenged Canada's sovereignty. The crisis has created a surge in patriotism among Canadians, with many in the country feeling that Carney is the best person to lead the country at the moment.
Trump has acknowledged himself that he has upended Canadian politics.
Carney called the tariffs unjustified and left the election campaign to chair his special Cabinet committee on U.S. relations in Ottawa.
"We will fight the U.S. tariffs with retaliatory trade actions of our own that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impacts here in Canada,” Carney said.
He said many Canadians are feeling worried and anxious about the future.
He said over the coming years Canadians must fundamentally reimagine the economy in a drastically different world. More than 75% of Canada's exports go to the U.S.
"The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over,” he said.
Carney is asking Canadians for a clear and strong mandate given “the biggest crisis in our lifetimes.”
Automobiles are Canada’s second-largest export and the sector employs 125,000 Canadians directly and almost another 500,000 in related industries.
Carney announced this week a CA$2 billion ($1.4 billion) “strategic response fund” that will protect Canadian auto jobs affected by Trump’s tariffs.
Trump previously had granted a one-month exemption on his stiff new tariffs on auto imports from Mexico and Canada for U.S. automakers.
In the auto sector, parts can go back and forth across the Canada-U.S. border several times before being fully assembled in Ontario or Michigan.
Trump previously placed 25% tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products — as well as on all of America’s trading partners — on April 2.
The president has plunged the U.S. into a global trade war — all while on-again, off-again new levies continue to escalate uncertainty.
The tax hike on auto imports starting in April means automakers could face higher costs and lower sales.
“This is not an industry that is Donald Trump’s to steal or take,” said Lana Payne, the National President of Unifor, the union that represents auto workers in Canada.
Payne said that Carney should tell Trump that if U.S. automakers are going to sell cars and trucks in Canada, they are going to have to build in Canada.
Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said Trump needs to “knock it off” when asked by journalists about the president's repeated attacks.
“We will never be the 51st state but we can be friends again with the United States if he reverses course,” Poilievre said.
