Legault to join Canadian premiers in negotiation trip to Washington Feb. 12

Legault posted a photo of himself shaking hands with Trump on social network X, saying the two discussed Canadian border control and tariffs. (François Legault/X)

Quebec Premier François Legault will travel to Washington when President-elect Donald Trump takes office after the latter threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian exports to the United States.

Legault said he will travel to the U.S. capital on Feb. 12 as part of a Council of the Federation mission. He made the announcement following a virtual meeting on Wednesday afternoon with the other provinces’ premiers.

“Quebec and the other Canadian provinces intend to exercise leadership in discussions with the United States. Quebec wants to be at the negotiating table and will appoint its representative in due course,” he said on social network X Wednesday evening.

Earlier in the day, Legault called on Quebec to “keep a cool head” as Trump stepped up his threats against Canada.

“Trump is going to use every opportunity at his disposal to increase his balance of power,” wrote the Quebec premier in a letter posted on Facebook. “All the more reason to keep a cool head and refuse to play the president-elect's game.”

The letter comes as the Republican candidate is multiplying his threats against Canada and other countries. Trump says he will impose tariffs of 25 per cent on Canadian exports to the United States. He has even gone so far as to talk of annexing Canada under threat of economic retaliation.

He has also threatened to annex Greenland, which belongs to Denmark, and to take control of the Panama Canal.

Legault believes that Justin Trudeau's resignation as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada is bringing its share of uncertainty to Ottawa. But he insists that Quebec's hands are not tied.

“We'd like to have less uncertainty in the federal government at the moment,” he wrote. “But that doesn't mean that Quebec and the rest of Canada are without the means to act.”

Legault repeated that he shared Trump's concerns about immigration, as he had already done last November. “I reiterate that it is far too easy to enter Canada under false pretenses,” the letter reads. “Taking action to counter this would help reassure the American government.”

“On Nov. 19, I instructed the Ministry of Public Security to begin active surveillance of our territory. Since then, the SQ has been patrolling the border with the United States. We are also in contact with the RCMP, Immigration Canada and the American authorities. We expect the federal government to significantly tighten visa requirements and to take all the necessary measures on its side,” he added.

Legault said that, at the meeting with his provincial counterparts, he “expressed (his) concern about the current political situation in Ottawa,” and that he “reiterated the importance of having a more detailed plan for the borders and measures to prevent people from entering Canada under false pretences.”

Legault also urged the federal government to increase its military spending. NATO has set itself the objective that all its member countries spend two per cent of their GDP on defence.

“Canada is lagging behind on this point, but the federal government is committed to achieving this objective. Ottawa will have to show that it is serious about this issue and pick up the pace. Quebec will also benefit, since we have a number of very successful companies in the defence sector,” he wrote.

If Trump were to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods, American consumers and businesses would also suffer, according to Legault. He gave the aluminium industry as an example.

“Imposing 25 per cent tariffs would hurt us, but it would also hurt American companies that need our products, not to mention the higher prices for Americans themselves.” 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French Jan. 8, 2025.