Walking Away from a Bad Deal Was the Right Choice. Now Canada Must Protect Workers

WINNIPEG — Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, issued the following statement after Canada-U.S. trade negotiations broke down Friday night:

“Walking away from a bad deal was the right choice for Canada. We support the Prime Minister and Canada’s negotiating team in this crucial decision.

“Donald Trump has once again chosen economic intimidation over fair trade, imposing 50 percent tariffs on billions of dollars of Canadian goods. Canada cannot bargain away our jobs, industries or economic sovereignty simply to satisfy an American president who keeps changing the terms of the deal.

“The road ahead will be tough. Workers and communities are already paying the price for Trump’s trade war, and these new tariffs will put even more Canadian jobs at risk.

“But we are all in this together. Canada must stand firm, use our leverage to force Trump to back down, and make protecting workers and communities our number-one priority.

“Matching Trump’s new tariffs dollar-for-dollar is an important first step that labour supports. But Canada must be prepared to do more. We have leverage in energy, critical minerals, lumber, potash and other resources the United States depends on. We should be prepared to use it.

“At the same time, standing up to Trump means standing up for the workers who will bear the brunt of this fight. No worker should lose their home or struggle to put food on the table because Donald Trump decided to start a trade war.

“The federal government must immediately put in place a comprehensive plan to protect Canadian workers, jobs and industries.”

Canada’s unions are calling on the federal government to:

• Strengthen Employment Insurance immediately so workers affected by tariffs can get help quickly and for as long as they need it, including easier access, longer benefit periods and adequate weekly benefits.
• Expand Work-Sharing and introduce wage subsidies to keep workers on the job and prevent temporary disruptions from becoming permanent layoffs.
• Provide direct income assistance and emergency supports to workers and communities facing severe disruption.
• Use Canada’s economic leverage. Retaliate strategically against U.S. tariffs and be prepared to use export taxes and restrictions on strategic resources, including energy, critical minerals and lumber, to put pressure where it will be felt in the United States.
• Protect strategic Canadian industries and jobs, including steel, aluminum, auto, forestry and manufacturing, with targeted support tied directly to maintaining Canadian jobs and production.
• Build Canadian and buy Canadian. Use public procurement and major infrastructure projects to create Canadian jobs and require Canadian steel, aluminum, lumber and other Canadian-made products wherever possible.
• Accelerate nation-building investments in housing, public transit, energy, transportation and other infrastructure that will create good union jobs and make Canada more economically resilient.
• Invest in domestic manufacturing, supply chains and value-added production so Canada is less dependent on the United States and more of our resources are processed and manufactured here at home.
• Invest in workers, including expanded apprenticeships, skills training and pathways into good union jobs in the industries Canada needs to build.
• Stop public-service cuts and reject austerity. At a moment when Trump is threatening Canadian jobs and economic growth, governments should be creating jobs and strengthening public services not adding to unemployment.
• Make corporations share the burden. Prevent price gouging and profiteering, ensure companies receiving public support protect Canadian jobs, and make profitable corporations pay their fair share.
• Diversify Canadian trade and build stronger economic relationships with reliable partners around the world so Canada is never again this vulnerable to the decisions of one American president.

“Workers did not start this trade war, and they cannot be left to pay for it.

“Canada has the resources, the skills and the workers to withstand this fight. What we need now is the determination to use them.

“This is the moment to stand together, governments, workers, unions, businesses and communities, to defend Canadian jobs and build a stronger, more independent Canadian economy.

“Trump is betting that Canada will buckle under pressure. We will prove him wrong.”

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