Canadian conservative says Ottawa should remove all tariffs [Video]

OTTAWA – As Canadians brace themselves for President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” of reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday, one political leader in Canada believes it could spark the start of a new era of Canada-U.S. relations free of cross-border taxes.

Maxime Bernier, who served as foreign affairs minister in former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government and now heads the right-wing People’s Party of Canada (PPC), told Fox News Digital in an interview from Halifax that it is “absolutely” the time for Canada to remove all tariffs against the U.S.

He said the 25% duties the Canadian government, under then-Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, imposed on the U.S. in early February to counter Trump’s 25% tariffs against Canada “won’t hurt the Americans – it is hurting Canadians.”

New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement following his March 28 call with the president – the first contact between both leaders since Carney was elected Liberal leader by his party nearly three weeks before …