Premiers are on 'charm offensive' to convince U.S. to drop tariff threats: Wab Kinew

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew flaunted a large grin as he described his mission with Canada's other provincial and territorial leaders in Washington, D.C., as "a charm offensive," despite the severity of the Trump administration's threats.

All 13 premiers are in the U.S. capital, kicking off a joint lobbying effort aimed at convincing the Republican members of Congress whose districts will feel the effects of a trade war to oppose the ongoing tariff threats.

As he arrived last night, Kinew took to Instagram to talk about relationship-building as the Canadian approach to its mission.

Walking in thickly falling snow as a winter storm began to sweep into the city, he said Team Canada is ready to not only offer warm and hearty handshakes, but "we might even help our friends shovel."

President Donald Trump on Monday evening signed orders imposing 25 per cent tariffs on both steel and aluminum entering the U.S. The tariffs are scheduled to take effect March 12.

On Tuesday, a White House official confirmed that would be on top of an economy-wide 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian and Mexican goods except for 10 per cent on Canadian oil earlier threatened by Trump — meaning Canada could face a total of 50 per cent tariffs on the metals.

Meanwhile, Trump is eyeing even more tariffs for a variety of reasons, including on automobiles.

The economy-wide tariff was initially announced in January and set to begin Feb. 1. Despite Trump saying at the end of January that there was nothing Canada could do to stop his plan, he later paused its implementation until March 4, after Canada's leaders scrambled to make a series of commitments to improve border security.

Canada also announced a plan to retaliate with tariffs of its own on $155 billion in U.S. goods, including alcohol, furniture and natural resources.

"Over the past few weeks, Canadians have seen that we can get results when we stick up for ourselves," Kinew said at a news conference on Wednesday as the other premiers stood shoulder-to-shoulder behind him.

"The purpose of our trip here is not for us to come down and try to issue ultimatums and things like that. The purpose of the trip here is diplomacy. And so the offensive that we're making here is a charm offensive."

That was his message on Tuesday, as well, when he arrived in Washington and the premiers had a chance to address U.S. politicians in a "friendship-building, relationship-building exercise."

"I'm a big believer in the old adage, relate before you negotiate, so part of this is about … creating that bond of connection," Kinew said.

"From the Manitoba perspective, we've got agriculture, we've got energy, we've got manufacturing, and a lot of those goods are going back and forth across the border multiple times before they get to the end user. So let's try to keep costs low. Let's try to keep people working. Let's focus on an economic solution that works for both countries."

Perhaps Mother Nature's wintry blast in Washington is actually a good thing, Kinew suggested.

"If we're going to hear an earful of Canadian weather jokes over the time that we're here, maybe that will help build the relationship, too."

'Not going to bore everybody'

When asked by reporters to list specifically who the premiers have met with, Kinew refused.

"I'm not going to bore everybody here by listing off the itinerary that we've had this morning," he said. "We've been meeting with people on both sides of the aisle. We've been meeting with elected officials here in the States. We're going to continue to do so."

Pressed about his reluctance to name names, Kinew — a former CBC Manitoba reporter — said, "I come from broadcasting background and I don't want to bore everybody by reading out a list while I got the cameras on here."

Reporters insisted they weren't bored and asked how long the list was, prompting Kinew to respond, "There's no way you guys are going to use video footage of me reading off a list. So hit me with your great questions."

Kinew snapped back when he was accused of dodging the questions, saying he's asking for questions that are "going to engage the people back home."

He then repeated his mission to "extend that warm and hearty handshake with our American relatives" before trying to bring humour back into the conversation.

"I'm interested in what Manitobans want and what Canadians want. And if you're going to ask me, I'd say we want more stops on the Taylor Swift Eras Tour, we want ChatGPT to help us with our kids' homework," he said.

"There's tons of things that America has that Canadians want to get more of."

And in turn, Canada has much of what the U.S. needs, he said, listing off critical minerals, oil, gas and hydroelectricity energy.

"Our long-term commitment is to ensure that this Canadian-American friendship really works and prospers for decades to come," Kinew said.