INNISFAIL – Innisfail-Sylvan Lake MLA Devin Dreeshen says Pierre Poilievre is a man “tough” enough to make a tariff deal with U.S. president Donald Trump that will be good enough for all Canadians.
“I think Pierre would be tough in negotiating a good deal,” Dreeshen told the 51黑料.
The UCP government’s minister of Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors also says this could happen following an immediate federal election, one that should be called after the Liberal Party of Canada chooses a new leader on March 9.
“It is very frustrating, the fact that there should have been a federal election when Justin Trudeau announced his resignation instead of calling for a federal election that you normally would do in that circumstance,” said Dreeshen. “Justin Trudeau and the Liberals put Canada in a very dangerous and difficult situation where we're essentially in a lame duck scenario for possibly a year in a minority Parliament with Prime Minister Carney or Prime Minister Freeland or Prime Minister Dhalla.
“I barely understand what Prime Minister Trudeau is doing.”
Dreeshen, who is preparing for a federal, provincial, territorial meeting at the end of this week in Quebec with federal and provincial transportation ministers, said what Canadians now need on the world stage as a G-8 country is the “clarity” that would come from a federal election and having a strong mandate from Canadians.
“I think (the U.S.) would see that there is someone they would have to negotiate with because that's the will of the country,” said Dreeshen. “I think you would have that instant credibility of being able to negotiate on behalf of Canadians versus a federal leader who has resigned as prime minister.
“And I think that's where you get a lot of the governor Trudeau quips from the U.S. president of having a prime minister who has resigned but is still prime minister.”
However, Dreeshen is also concerned there could be further alliances between the Liberals and NDP, even after a new prime minister is chosen, that could go on as long as into 2026.
“I’ve heard people say the NDP is going to prop up the Liberals until the fall when so many NDP MPs would receive their federal pension, and that possibility could stretch this out until the fall of this year,” said Dreeshen. “And then I've heard others say that going until 2026 that you would have a Liberal government still federally being propped up by the NDP.
“There's so many different hypothetical scenarios that could happen, but that's why I think an election is the clearest and best answer going forward.”
However, in the meantime, Trump continues to double down on potentially crippling tariffs for Canada.
These include his first wave of 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on all goods going into the U.S. that are scheduled for March 4, and then additional 25 per cent tariffs on the country’s steel and aluminum industry set to come into effect on March 12.
And then there is Trump’s most recent call for reciprocal trade tariffs on all major trading partners that would match the rate another country applies to U.S. products.
There is no definitive timetable for those, only a Trump promise they will come, possibly after April 1.
With all of these threats from south of the border Dreeshen is convinced Poilievre is tough enough to handle the man famed for his “art of the deal” negotiating approach.
“Pierre would be a very strong, tough negotiator, and again would do things that are in the best interest of our country at the same time. We'd be in a much better position than where we are now,” said Dreeshen. “If this is a negotiation, we're in a very weak position due to the antics of Prime Minister Trudeau.”
