Quebec premier says North American free-trade agreement should be reopened now

QUÉBEC — Talks should begin as soon as possible on renegotiating the North American free-trade agreement, Quebec Premier François Legault said Tuesday in the legislature, as he and other leaders pondered how to respond to the major economic threat south of the border.

Legault made the comments in a special speech to the national assembly, one day after United States President Donald Trump paused for 30 days the implementation of 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods and services.

“Obviously, we hope that these tariffs will never be put in place,” Legault said. “But when you listen to Mr. Trump, you can’t take the risk of betting on that.”

The premier said the uncertainty that is being created by the constant threats of U.S. tariffs is like injecting “poison” into the economy. If Trump is unhappy with the North American free-trade agreement, then the U.S., Canada and Mexico should begin talks immediately instead of waiting for a scheduled review in 2026, Legault said.

The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, signed in 2018 and entered into force in 2020, governs trade across the continent and replaces the original deal that went into effect in 1994.

Legault said that in light of Trump’s tariff plans — what the premier described as a “brutal economic attack” — the province must move to diversify its economy and make it less dependent on the U.S. “We have to bet on ourselves above all,” the premier said.

If the Trump administration ends up imposing 25 per cent tariffs across all Canadian goods and services, Quebec could see up to 100,000 jobs losses and businesses struggling to survive, particularly in forestry, aluminum processing and the agri-food industry, Legault said. Priority No. 1 will be supporting those affected businesses, he added.

Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said Legault’s plan lacked specifics and was full of “clichés.”

“What we want from the government in delicate and complex situations is not for it to amplify fear and anxiety, nor to stage media spectacles like we saw during the pandemic,” St-Pierre Plamondon said, sparking outrage among Legault’s party.

According to the PQ leader, the provincial government must offer “fiscal incentives for our entrepreneurs.”

“We believe that this government has excessively subsidized businesses in general over the past seven years. And the results have not been there, as evidenced by a historic $11-billion deficit,” he argued, adding that it was necessary to reduce “bureaucracy and red tape.”

Interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay said Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec government was unprepared to deal with Trump, and he called on the premier to be more active with diplomacy in the U.S. Legault must name a chief negotiator for the province, Tanguay said.

“Quebec diplomacy exists. We need to take action to prepare for what is likely to happen in 30 days and ensure that the pressure comes from within the United States,” Tanguay said, suggesting the province lobby U.S. leaders to pressure the Trump administration to drop its tariff threat. “We have asked for this, but we do not see any tangible and concrete activation of bilateral diplomatic relations.”

Québec solidaire’s Ruba Ghazal said Trump is a wild card and can’t be trusted. “We have before us a rogue emperor, a bully of the worst kind, an intimidator who does not care about laws, rules or treaties.”

“There will be some who say that the storm will pass, there will be some who say that Uncle Sam will come to his senses, that Donald Trump will end up understanding that it is in the interest of the American economy and the American people to cultivate good relations with its neighbours,” said Ghazal, whose party called for Tuesday’s debate in the legislature.

“We, Quebecers, are optimistic people, but we are also lucid,” Ghazal said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2025.

— By Sidhartha Banerjee in Montreal.

The Canadian Press