Calling for separate trade deals, premier says current U.S.-Mexico agreement causing job loss in Canada

All 13 provincial and territorial premiers are aligned on a push for the federal government to negotiate a bilateral trade deal with the United States, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday.

Ford, who is the current chair of the Council of the Federation, the group of Canada’s 13 premiers, said they had a call and there is a clear consensus that the country needs separate agreements with the U.S. and Mexico.

“All the premiers, we know Mexico is bringing in cheap Chinese parts, slapping made-in-Mexico stickers on, shipping it up through the U.S. and Canada, causing American jobs to be lost, and Canadian jobs,” he said after the call wrapped up. “We want fair trade.”

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has said members of the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden and advisers of incoming president-elect Donald Trump have expressed “very grave” concerns to her about the issue of Mexico becoming a “back door” to Chinese goods.

Freeland has sought to reassure nervous Canadians that the country is in a good position with the incoming Trump administration, even as it threatens new tariffs, because Ottawa is moving in lock-step with the U.S. on Chinese trade irritants.

The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement is up for review in 2026.

The premiers are calling for a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his officials to discuss the idea of bilateral negotiations.

This week, Trudeau said he highlighted concerns directly with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ summit in Brazil.

Ford, meanwhile, has spoken frequently about establishing relationships with governors across the U.S., appealing directly to his subnational counterparts and reminding them that Ontario is the No. 1 trading partner to 17 states and No. 2 to 13 others.

The premiers are set to meet in Toronto in mid-December and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has suggested inviting some governors to the meeting, Ford said.

“I’m not too sure if any will show up, because they’re in transition right now,” he said.

“We plan on heading down there as Team Canada sometime in February … maybe March, as everyone comes back to Washington, and there’s a governors’ meeting as well in February, if I’m not mistaken. We’d love to be down there at the governors’ meeting.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2024.

With files from Kyle Duggan