Kinew looks to ensure economy ‘Trump-proof’

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This article was published 04/02/2025 (270 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — The Kinew government is postponing retaliatory measures against U.S. tariffs after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 30-day delay in slapping extra fees on made-in-Canada products.

Premier Wab Kinew has temporarily retracted plans to pull American products from Manitoba Liquor Mart shelves and stop allowing firms located south of the border to bid on government contracts.

The former — a tactic also announced in Ontario, B.C. and Nova Scotia — was set to take effect today, the day Trump originally said 25 per cent tariffs on goods would be implemented.

Following two phone calls with the president on Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed Canada is being given at least one buffer month, owing to promises to improve security along the shared border. Mexico has received the same extension.

Kinew celebrated the development, but noted the tariff threat remains and the province needs to prioritize strengthening relationships with the European Union, Asia and other parts of the world.

“We have a responsibility to continue to take those long-term steps to ensure that our economy is Trump-proof in Manitoba, meaning diversifying our export markets,” Kinew told reporters Monday afternoon.

The last-minute pause suggests there are “effective tools” to counter threats from Canada’s largest trading partner, he added.

Over the weekend, Ottawa announced retaliatory tariffs against $155 billion worth of American shipments. Kinew endorsed the plan.

The premier is slated to visit Washington, D.C., next week with his provincial colleagues to make their case for cross-border shopping and other positive benefits of Canada-U.S. trade.

Earlier Monday, Kinew assembled business leaders, unionists and representatives from the agriculture and transportation sectors, among others, to brainstorm how to respond to current leadership in the White House.

Manitoba established a U.S. Trade Council to brace for Trump following through on his threat to penalize Canada over claims of weak border control affecting Americans’ safety and fuelling the illicit drug market.

Hours before the tariff pause was revealed, Kinew told members that he had asked cabinet colleagues to prevent American companies from bidding on government projects and planned to roll out new measures throughout the week.

He also warned members who gathered at the Manitoba Legislative Building that they needed to broaden their discussions due to Trump’s repeated musings about making Canada the “51st state.”

Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson and Manitoba Métis Federation President David Chartrand were among two of the newest additions to the group.

It is going to be critical to hear Indigenous leaders’ perspectives, particularly on concerns related to sovereignty, Kinew said.

The premier added that his top priority is to help local businesses, but Manitoba also needs to recognize and respond to an international shift toward onshoring — the opposite of outsourcing — and protectionism.

The province must diversify its export markets to create partnerships with “predictable allies” and businesses in countries “who are going to treat us fairly,” he said, adding he is seeking advice on strategies to increase productivity, educate more Manitobans and grow the workforce.

Following the roughly 90-minute event, Kevin Rebeck of the Manitoba Federation of Labour said the province has been awarding lots of contracts to Canadian companies, but there are lots of opportunities to make local investments.

“The days of seeing out-of-province licence plates at construction projects needs to come to an end. Let’s employ local businesses and workers,” the union president said.

Another member on the council stressed the importance of preserving the long-lasting and mutually beneficial trade relationship between the U.S. and Canada.

“We don’t need to throw it out. We can work through this,” Manitoba Beef Producers president Matthew Atkinson said.

Given there are “so many unknowns,” including the local market’s reaction to the possible tariffs, Atkinson said it was difficult to make any specific suggestions to the premier.

At the same time, he said he was heartened by the team mindset around the table.

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham penned a letter to councillors on Monday to inform them he was organizing a meeting on the now-delayed tariffs and that he’d asked the public service to review U.S. supplier arrangements and analyze potential economic impacts on the city.

In his memo, Gillingham called the threat “an attack on Canadian jobs and paycheques, and a clear violation of the terms of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement,” which he noted Trump himself negotiated and signed.

Coun. Ross Eadie, chairman of the water and waste committee, said the city has some major infrastructure projects underway that could be affected by tariffs, including the biosolids facility portion of the multibillion-dollar North End sewage treatment plant upgrade.

“We ship a lot of raw material down to the United States and then, they manufacture certain elements and probably, pieces of equipment that we’re going to be using in the biosolids processing,” Eadie (Mynarski) said.

» Winnipeg Free Press, with files from Joyanne Pursaga and Erik Pindera