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The head of one of Canada’s largest banks says “it won’t be easy” to negotiate with Donald Trump as Ottawa tries to avoid crippling tariffs on Canadian goods, especially since the United States president “loves to shock people” by unleashing a “firehose” of information.
“Like everyone, we are confused on exactly where we stand with Trump,” National Bank of Canada chief executive Laurent Ferreira said at an event in Montreal on Thursday, according to a translated version of his speech.
But he wants Canada to “stand firm” while negotiating with its “partner.”
Ferreira also wants Canada to learn from this episode and build a new plan to boost the country’s struggling productivity levels by focusing on its strengths, such as the energy, natural resources and agricultural industries, instead of “spinning off” in different directions.
“If there’s one thing that President Trump has done for Canada — we might even thank him for it one day — it’s that he has reignited discussions between governments and the business world,” he said.
Ferreira said the U.S. will quickly scale back regulations and cut taxes on business, which could result in a wider productivity gap between the two countries.
“We need to react quickly and help Canadian businesses by lightening the tax and regulatory burden,” he said.
Trump reiterated his desire to place a tariff on Canadian exports during a virtual appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday.
“We don’t need them to make our cars … we don’t need their lumber, because we have our own forests … we don’t need their oil and gas; we have more than anybody,” he said. “Canada’s been very tough to deal with over the years, and it’s not fair that we should have a US$200- or US$250-billion (trade) deficit.”
Ottawa has repeatedly said its first preference is to work with its ally to find a way to prevent these tariffs. But if that doesn’t work out, it’s open to imposing counter tariffs on U.S. exports.
A trade war is expected to impact Canada more since the U.S. economy, unlike Canada’s, is strong enough to overcome any losses.
“The U.S. economy and stock market serve as significant guardrails for the U.S. administration,” Ferreira said.
He said it was also time to roll out a “Buy Canada Act” that focuses on things such as artificial intelligence for defence and national security applications.
“This would enable us to protect our national interests while revitalizing and promoting Canadian companies and industries,” he said.