On Tuesday, Mayor Josh Morgan spoke to city council via videoconference from Washington D.C. where he is part of a Canadian delegation to prevent U.S. tariffs.
“We are here advocating alongside Americans to the Trump administration that this is a bad idea. It’s a bad idea for Canadians. It’s a bad idea for Americans,” Morgan said while walking to his next set of meetings.
Morgan is attending in his role as Chair of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Big City Mayors’ Caucus, which represents 23 of Canada’s largest cities.
The delegation is being led by Ontario P.C. Leader Doug Ford.
The mayor described meetings with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and various business leaders as very positive.
“There’s a lot of support from Americans, for Canada and what we’re doing,” he said. “There’s not a lot of people who support the idea of tariffs, but the one thing that has been very clear is that the united approach that Canadians are taking is very effective.”
Morgan also acknowledged that the intent of the mission is to convince people who have influence with the Trump administration.
Council used the video call as an opportunity to unanimously support a review of city hall’s purchasing policy to prioritize buying Canadian-made goods and services.
The motion also formally supports the “Team Canada” approach to the threat of tariffs, and requests that Morgan continue to lobby the senior levels of government to remove trade barriers between provinces.
