Windsor politician calls for proactive measures following tariff threat

Windsor West MP Brian Masse says he supports Canada's retaliatory tariffs against the United States if the U.S. follows through on tariffs against Canada, but the country also needs to be proactive about planning for the future.

Speaking to reporters Monday morning at the edge of the Detroit River, a location chosen in honour of the War of 1812, Masse called for what he called a "Build Canada Buy Canadian" plan to fortify the country's economy. 

"President Donald Trump clearly wants to harm Canadians. He knows what he's doing," Masse said. 

"An attack on our economy is an attack on our people."

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he would implement a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian and Mexican goods and a 10 per cent tariff on Chinese goods starting on Tuesday.

Canadian energy exports would have been taxed at a reduced rate of 10 per cent.

But following a 3 p.m. phone call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump delayed the tariff plan for 30 days.

Can't wait around until 'Trump decides that he's had a bad day'

Masse said Canada needs to plan for the future, even if the tariffs don't go ahead.

"We just can't wait around for the next moment that … we get something solved, then [have] a disruption later on because President Trump decides that he's had a bad day," he said.

"What we need to do is increase our capacity."

Americans already have a Buy American policy, and Canada should have the same, Masse said, and even Americans have advised him to pursue one.

"I can't tell you how many congressional senators that I've met with over the years have said, 'You should have a buy Canadian strategy so that you can at least sit down at the table and have a counter offer,'" he said

 "We have no counter offer."

The federal and provincial governments, Masse said, also need to reinstate rebate programs that incentivize the purchase of EVs.

Masse says to prepare for new Canadian automobile procurement

Speaking with CBC again after the tariffs were paused, Masse called for governments to begin inventorying their automobile fleets and to be prepared to get orders in for federal, provincial, and municipal vehicles.

He says those orders could help keep assembly lines running if tariffs should hit at a later date.

Keeping people off employment insurance would help pay for the upfront investment, he added.

In addition, he said, the NDP would respond to any tariffs by advocating for a ban on American companies taking part in Canadian procurement processes and for support for Canadian alternatives – including value added components that would help businesses scale up to meet demand.

The provincial NDP candidate for Windsor West appeared with Masse on the waterfront to argue that the NDP is better positioned than Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives to manage the tariff issue at the provincial level.

Lisa Gretzky said the COVID-19 pandemic should've been a wake up call for the province to become less reliant on partnerships with the U.S. and work to become more self-reliant and eliminate interprovincial trade barriers. 

"The Conservative government has been talking about an early election since April, May of last year," she said.

"This is not about Doug Ford fighting tariffs. This isn't about Doug Ford defending local jobs. This is about Doug Ford trying to save his own job."

Ford launched his reelection campaign in Windsor last week arguing that he needs a new mandate to guide Ontario through the uncertainty brought by Trump's tariff threats and by the economic devastation that would follow if they were implemented.

Speaking to reporters near the Ambassador Bridge, Ford pledged to spend tens of thousands of dollars to protect jobs and retrain workers impacted by any tariffs.

"We'll make sure that we use every tool in our toolbox to protect Ontario families, protect Ontario workers, businesses and communities," he said.

The federal Liberal MP for Windsor Tecumseh also spoke to reporters about the tariff issue Monday at a news conference to announce housing funding for Lakeshore and Chatham-Kent.

Irek Kusmierczyk said he spoke to the Prime Minister and finance minister Sunday night about the plight of Windsorites on the front lines of what he called "economic warfare."

"I can tell you that our government is stepping up," he said. 

"We'll be there for workers. We'll be there for communities, and of course, we'll be there to make sure that we fight these tariffs."

But Kusmierczyk didn't directly answer questions about the possibility of federal funding packages to help weather the potential economic storm.