Hi, Premier. Good to see you. Thank you for making the time. Nice to see you. How are you? I’m good, thank you. Yourself? I’m not too bad. Glad to be back out of Washington. Yeah, let me start off by asking you about that trip and, more specifically, if you feel any further ahead trying to understand where this is going. After that trip, I’m not sure I feel further ahead. I think there were some constructive conversations that occurred throughout DC with all the premier, but unfortunately, you know, it’s the.
president himself right now, uh, who are, who is making the decisions, who’s calling the shots, who’s aping up the rhetoric so, um, while some were constructive in, in, in us, you know, communicating the Canadian narrative of the shared economies and how this will hurt Americans as much as Canadians, uh, to hear the president speak, uh, about sovereignty and then to hear his, the attacks on sovereignty and then to hear his senior staff convey that he is very serious when he’s talking about the 51st state was incredibly concerning, um, I’m.
so from that perspective I took way that he as I’ve said many times even on your show that he’s not joking in fact they said as much they said people dismiss him as joking and then it becomes a policy and then it becomes a reality so as Canadians we need to realize that he is that he is not joking uh that he is definitively looking towards the 51st State being Canada this is going to be a sustained attack on who we are as Canadians and I think we need to make sure that we understand that we reflect on that and perhaps we adjust our.
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Furey on Trump’s 51st state threats
strategy accordingly and what does adjusting our strategy look like? Like, how much, I guess? How much pain should we be prepared for? Well, it’s going to sound strange for Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador to agree with Prime Minister Harper former Prime Minister Harper but I certainly agree with the theme of his sentiment. I agree with this: there can be no price that is too extreme to protect the sharp edges of the maple leaf. We cannot let the acuity of this situation, of this economic attack on Canada, erode the maple leaf. Who are we?
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Furey on Trump’s 51st state threats: are our national values, our identity, our unity. We just can’t let it happen and so that is going to come, uh, with significant resolve. It’s going to need Canadians to come together as they have to stand united, uh, not in the short term but in the, I would argue, even in the medium and long term. From a strategic point of view, what I felt like down there sometimes in DC was, are we negotiating with ourselves? You know, we’re down there trying to create a path together, uh, towards resolution of tariffs, and it doesn’t seem like it’s.
being met substantively with any kind of structure or recognition from the White House itself and so absent that, I wonder if we’re just negotiating with ourselves and swinging at the air and if that’s the case, then we need to regroup as Premier and as Federal ministers and the Prime Minister and try to understand perhaps what may be a better strategy to be calm, to be resolute in our identity and our sovereignty but also to have a strategy that meets the moment, that’s responsive but responsible on behalf of all.
Canadians are screaming about potential concessions or how we want to work together. Um, I’m not sure it’s penetrating. Do you think it was the right decision to take that meeting at the White House with someone who, um, you know, while senior in staffers, was still just a staffer? I mean, I think it did project a certain image to a lot of Canadians who hold premiers in the office in a certain esteem, and then all of a sudden, you know, see coming out of that a corrective tweet from this gentleman who’s then, you know, doubling.
Furey says Trump’s steel tariffs will impact NL
down on the issue of sovereignty again, he can double down, triple down; it doesn’t matter. I mean, even in that meeting, I even in that meeting.
was yes, he’s Deputy Chief of Staff but I trust my Deputy Chief of Staff. There’s no light between me and him, or presumably it’s the same in the White House; no light between the two and he told us point blank to take the president seriously, not dismiss it as humor, take him seriously, he means what he says and he says what he means and anyone who doesn’t recognize that in the president does. So at their own peril, that is a chilling comment coming from the president of the United States.
leader of our closest ally, our biggest trading partner but there you have it. To ignore or to ostrich on it would be fundamentally wrong in trying to protect Canadians. I have time for just one question and I wanted to ask based on those interactions and I think it will help Canadians sort of understand what informs our strategy going forward. Is it a desire to, you know, take advantage of our resources? Is it like, do you have any clue as to what’s motivating the issue of annexing Canada? I would look; I didn’t do enough.
http://Premier of NL – Make no mistake, President Trump
psychiatry in medical school to pretend to understand what motivates or the president of the United States at this particular moment. Um, he’s clearly an erratic actor. I do think he believes that there is a trade discrepancy between Canada and the United States. Uh, I think he believes that tariffs are a revenue generator for the United States. Um, I’m not sure why. Why, uh, they’ve tried this in the past in the late 20s and it didn’t work. It caused the Great Depression to even become worse so I would never pretend to.
understand what motivates, uh, the president of the United States, all I would say is that as Canadians, uh, we need to stand firm, stand strong and meet this historic moment. Premier, I’ll leave it on that note. I appreciate you making the time as always. Thank you. Thanks very much. I hope you’re feeling better than.
