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TORONTO — The country’s 13 prime ministers will remain united as “Team Canada” in the face of the US tariff threat, despite the “chaos” in Ottawa. Premier of Ontario Doug Ford declared a few hours after the resignation of the federal Minister of Finance.

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Ford chaired a meeting of provincial and territorial leaders in Toronto on Monday, and one of the main items on the agenda was to discuss a warning from the president-elect of the United States. Donald Trump that he will impose a 25 percent import tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico when he takes office.

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But the discussions took a different tone, since Chrystia Freeland announced his resignation from cabinet as the prime ministers began their meeting.

At the closing news conference of the Council of the Federation meeting, Ford described premiers as having their hands on the helm in a much more turbulent federal context.

“It’s chaos right now in Ottawa and it’s time to do what we prime ministers do every day: we step up our efforts and we will make sure to tell the world that there is stability here,” Ford said.

“There is certainty here in Canada and it’s certainly a great place to invest in any of our provinces or territories.”

Freeland’s resignation letter — released on the same day she was scheduled to deliver an economic update in the fall — said she and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were “at odds,” and she wrote that Canada should avoid “expensive political gadgets” as he prepares. for a tariff war.

She also wrote that opposing American economic nationalism means working in good faith and humility with prime ministers.

The premiers, through Ford, said Monday the federal government needs to do a better job of involving them in a strategy to tackle the threatened tariffs. Provincial and territorial leaders are planning a premiers’ mission to Washington, DC, in February, Ford said.

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Trump suggested the tariffs would be put in place unless both countries stop illegal border crossings and prevent drugs like fentanyl from entering the United States.

The premiers held virtual meetings with Trudeau to discuss tariffs, pressure him for more funding for border security and plan a coordinated response. These types of meetings must take place regularly, the prime ministers said.

While some prime ministers discussed different approaches to handling Trump’s tariff threat, Ford said they all agreed on the need for stronger border security and that Canada should stick to its commitment to spend 2 per cent of its GDP to national defense. Trudeau has committed to achieving this goal by 2032.

Ford came out strongly in favor of retaliatory tariffs and threatened to in turn cut off the electricity that the province supplies to several states.

But other premiers have come out in favor of a different approach, with Alberta’s Danielle Smith saying she prefers the diplomatic route and does not support retaliatory tariffs or halting oil exports and Alberta Gas.

Prime ministers also agreed on Monday on a new proposal to speed up the approval of life-saving drugs. They will direct their health ministers to launch a pilot project that will cut approval processes by nine months, Ford said.

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