MNI BRIEF: Canada Likens Tariffs Threat To 1930s Appeasement
MNI (OTTAWA) - Canada's energy and natural resources minister on Wednesday compared the idea of accepting U.S. tariffs to policies of appeasement seen in the 1930s, some of the bluntest comments yet signaling an intention to retaliate if Donald Trump moves ahead with sanctions this weekend.
“Appeasement didn’t work well prior to the Second World War, appeasement won’t work well in this context,” Jonathan Wilkinson told reporters in Calgary.
Canada must keep all its options open and can compensate regions like energy-rich Alberta that may be hurt in a trade war, he said. “Canadians would never accept the idea that we would essentially be slapped with what would create significant economic dislocation and we would just sit on our hands and do nothing,” he said. (See: MNI INTERVIEW: BOC Faces Recessionary Risk On Tariff Hit: Lane)