Chrystia Freeland sent shockwaves through Canada when she resigned as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Finance Minister in December. Her public resignation letter blasted Trudeau for not doing enough to prepare for the second Trump administration.

The Canadian candidate for prime minister said she believes Trump is smart and is threatening to impose tariffs on allies in part to pave the way for tougher policies on China.

The former finance minister said her plan calls for the immediate release of a long list of $200 billion in retaliatory tariffs to deter Trump from making good on his threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports as soon as February.

A list of products worth 200 billion Canadian dollars (USD 139 billion) would send a message to US exporters about the harm tariffs would cause them, Freeland said in a statement.

A key candidate running to replace Justin Trudeau as Canada’s prime minister is calling for an international summit to hammer out a joint response to US President Donald Trump’s tariff and sovereignty threats.