‘An eye for an eye,’ Quebec labour federation wants to hit Trump with counter tariff threats

Magali Picard of the FTQ union speaks at a news conference, Thursday, December 7, 2023 at the legislature in Quebec City. Francois Enault of the CSN, left, looks on. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

Faced with Donald Trump’s tariff threats against Canada, the latter must go “eye for eye, tooth for tooth,” play to its strengths and not put itself in a position of weakness vis-à-vis him, by avoiding responding to every one of his “outlandish” assertions.

At her traditional news conference at the start of the year, FTQ (Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec) president Magali Picard spoke of the fears from her major affiliated unions and their members in the face of the 25 per cent tariff threats issued by the U.S. president-elect.

The United Steelworkers, Unifor and the Teamsters, all major affiliates of the QFL, would be particularly hard hit by these potential U.S. tariffs, since they have a strong presence in mining, metallurgy, timber, forestry and transport.

“We have to hurt him; he wants to hurt us; he wants to impress us by playing this dangerous game,” said Picard.

She noted that as a trade unionist, “you always have to analyze carefully with whom you are negotiating,” and, with Donald Trump, it’s the balance of power that works, she said.

“I don’t think that trying to negotiate with someone who is not in his right mind is going to get us anywhere,” she said.

The FTQ’s position is important because its major affiliates have links with American unions, which could become either allies for jobs or obstacles in this debate.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 14, 2025.