Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic responds to President Trump’s tariffs

#TeamKitchener stands together with #TeamCanada & #TeamOntario

My family chose Canada. Like all of you, I love this country and this weekend, like so many of you, I was both angry and hurt by the decision of our neighbour to launch an economic battle with our country.

On Saturday, together with cities and communities across Canada, residents and businesses in the City of Kitchener were slapped with an Executive Order from US President Donald Trump, announcing the imposition of trade tariffs on Canadian exports. Let us be clear, this is an unjustified and indefensible economic attack on Canada that will hurt everyone – Canadians and Americans alike – families, communities and businesses.

Our Canada-US relationship has been unique. Historically, we have been the best neighbour, friend and ally of each other. Our cities, our businesses and our people have been connected like in no two other nations. But we have been sovereign nations, and independent nations we will remain.

Over the past several weeks, our Prime Minister and the Government of Canada and our Premier, and the Province of Ontario, together with the other provinces and territories have been working tirelessly to try and avert this senseless decision by the United States. But now that we are here, as they have demonstrated with their leadership over the weekend, they will be united and fiercely defend Canada and Canadians. And as Mayor of Kitchener, Kitchener will stand united with them, and with elected representatives of all stripes who share in our joint resolve to protect our country, and the residents we all serve.

As a city, we will work tirelessly with our federal and provincial colleagues who are leading this file, to support our residents and businesses. In the lead up to this weekend’s events, we have been engaging with our partners at Waterloo Region Economic Development Corporation, and with business and government partners to prepare in case this day arrived. This week, as our outreach continues, on Thursday, I will be joining Canada’s Big City Mayors in Ottawa, where we will be meeting with federal Ministers including Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly; and on Friday, I will be joining Ontario’s Big City Mayors where we will be meeting virtually with Premier Ford and the leaders of Ontario’s other three major parties. Over the coming days, I also plan to be in touch with both Canadian and American colleagues to see how we can work collaboratively on this important issue. Together, with our Council and staff, we are committed to working with our government and business partners to defend our Canada’s and Kitchener’s economic interests with unprecedented vigour.

These actions by the United States may make us feel bruised and frustrated. But we are Canadian. We are true north, strong, and free. As residents of Kitchener, we are proud Canadians who are resilient, with a history of caring for and supporting each other. We will always #ChooseCanada, #SupportLocal, #BuyCanadian!

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic