SIDNEY, B.C. — At a press conference in Sidney BC, Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May called for the federal government to act swiftly and decisively in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s letter posted to social media late yesterday. The letter is based on fictitious claims of drugs flooding across the US northern border. It threatens a 35 percent tariff on all Canadian goods. The Greens warn that hesitation will leave workers, manufacturers, and communities dangerously exposed.
“Donald Trump’s trade aggression toward Canada didn’t start this week,” said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. “This is just the latest in a pattern of destabilizing moves. Canada is not powerless.”
We urge that:
1) Canada collect the Digital Services Tax as enacted by the Parliament of Canada, in concert with global efforts within the OECD to deal with predatory tech giants.
2) Recognizing that US President Donald J Trump has made it clear the US economy does not need anything from Canada, we will immediately create strategic reserves for Potash, with the possibility of more such strategic reserves of natural resources in future.
Canada currently exports $3.5 billion worth of potash to the U.S. We will stop exporting potash to the United States.
We can purchase our resources and hold them in strategic reserves. During the 2025 election, the Parliamentary Budget Office reviewed the Green proposal for issuing Saving Canada Bonds at 5% simple interest, issued only to individual Canadians, not banks or brokers, at $4.2 billion cost. PBO analysis of Saving Canada Bonds is published on the PBO website as “issuing retail bonds” costing $145 million/year in interest.
“By focusing on potash for our first strategic reserve, Canada targets key US Republican supporters in the powerful corn and ethanol lobby. We can finance the potash reserve through new “Saving Canada Bonds.” As well, we protect Canada by taxing the tech giants that have inflicted damage on many aspects of Canadian society.
May pointed to the Green Party’s 2025 platform, which includes proposals that could help cushion the impact of tariff volatility while reinforcing economic sovereignty. One of the key tools is the creation of Strategic Reserves for critical resources such as aluminum and potash. These reserves would be held through Crown corporations and established through non-budgetary transactions.
“If Quebec can have a strategic reserve of maple syrup, then Canada can certainly create reserves to insulate resource sectors and workers while inflicting maximum damage on Trump’s domestic political base,” said May.
May also called for the launch of “Saving Canada Bonds,” a made-in-Canada investment tool modeled after the war bonds of past generations. These public bonds would allow Canadians to invest directly in national infrastructure, supply chain resilience, and economic self-reliance while returning a solid return on investment of 5% to Canadian bond holders.
“Canadians are ready to help defend what we’ve built together,” said May. “But we need more than slogans about sovereignty. We need mechanisms, tools, and strategy. We’re offering that.”
“We’ve seen this movie before,” May said. “Trump manufactures a crisis and dares other countries to blink. If we keep responding to one trade skirmish at a time, we’ll always be on our heels. It’s time to take the long view and finally build the economic resilience Canada needs.”
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For more information or to arrange an interview:
Laurie MacMillan
Communications Director
Green Party of Canada