Canada's New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh speaks during Question Period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Dec. 17, 2024.Patrick Doyle/Reuters
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is calling for federal political leaders to support a suspension of exports of critical minerals to the United States if Donald Trump proceeds with his plan to impose steep tariffs on Canada.
“Bullies understand one thing: that is strength,” Mr. Singh told reporters in Ottawa on Monday as Canada awaits Jan. 20, when Mr. Trump is set to take office.
“They also understand pain. So if he wants to pick a fight with Canada, we have to make sure it’s clear that it’s going to hurt Americans as well.”
Canada is the largest foreign supplier to the U.S. of minerals such as potash, indium, aluminum and tellurium and provides the U.S. with about one-quarter of its uranium needs. Other major exports include tungsten, magnesium and niobium.
“Let’s stop the flow of those critical minerals into the States. There’s no quicker way to get Donald Trump to back away from tariffs,” Mr. Singh said.
A statement by the NDP suggested starting with cobalt and lithium.
“Our great country has in abundance what Donald Trump and America need – like cobalt and lithium for electric vehicle batteries,” the party said.
In comments broadcast Sunday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly wouldn’t rule out restricting energy exports to the United States as part of a retaliatory effort should Mr. Trump go ahead with threatened 25-per-cent tariffs.
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Mr. Singh said Canada should start with critical minerals that are vital for making everything from mobile phones to solar panels, electric vehicle batteries to medical and healthcare devices, to military goods.
“I propose starting with one thing, like critical minerals, and then we can expand on that and build on that,” Mr. Singh said.
In November, Mr. Trump threatened 25-per-cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico unless they took action to stop illegal migration and drug smuggling into American territory. Canada subsequently announced $1.3-billion in new border spending over six years.
Last week, the president-elect suggested this has not satisfied him. He said drugs are flowing across American borders “in record numbers,” and “we are going to make up for that by putting tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Substantial tariffs.”
As The Globe reported Thursday, Ottawa is readying a list of American goods that it would target with retaliatory tariffs, including orange juice, ceramics such as toilets and sinks, and some steel products, should Mr. Trump proceed with his tariff threat.
Tariffs on Canadian imports will drive up costs for American consumers. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Business Data Lab recently estimated that if Mr. Trump proceeds with his pledged tariffs and Canada counters with retaliatory tariffs, the United States’ annual economic output, or gross domestic product, would shrink by 1.6 per cent or US$467-billion, costing Americans approximately US$1,300 per person annually.