Canadian Energy Minister and potential candidate to replace Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, said that Trump's claim that the United States does not need Canada to provide anything is "completely wrong".

Wilkinson said that the United States does not have simple alternatives to Canadian crude oil, uranium, potassium fertilizers, and other key minerals. He warned that nothing is impossible in terms of potential trade retaliation in Canada, including export taxes.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Trump reiterated his commitment to impose "very severe" tariffs on all Canadian imports.

The elected president said to reporters about Canada, "We don't need anything they have

Wilkinson will arrive in Washington next week and is working to arrange meetings with US lawmakers. On Wednesday, he gave an interview to Bloomberg News in the Canadian Parliament, just outside the room where his Liberal Party caucus was meeting to discuss the rules for the upcoming party leadership election.

Response to Trump's statement that the United States does not need anything from Canada

This is simply wrong. The United States has gained enormous economic value from Canada, and the resources it utilizes are difficult to obtain from other countries. If you look at oil, we offer heavy crude oil. Most of the crude oil produced in the United States is light, low sulfur crude oil. Refineries in the Midwest are built for heavy crude oil, and they have no choice but to use Canadian resources - which is uneconomical. Even some alternative options for heavy crude oil refineries in the Gulf region are Venezuela. Do you really tell me that Americans are more interested in buying crude oil from Venezuela than Canada?

The same goes for key minerals, we provide a large amount of minerals and have the opportunity to provide more. Their choice is to purchase from major Asian countries. In some cases, this is not actually an alternative solution, as major Asian countries have already banned the export of certain quantities of key minerals.

The same goes for uranium. The same goes for potassium fertilizer, yes, they do have an alternative solution: it's called Russia, and it's not the most stable or reliable source either. In terms of hydroelectric power, there is a lot of trade on the West Coast and a significant amount of electricity is transported from Quebec to Boston and New York, so there is no other choice.

The views of Canadian oil industry leaders

Yes, I not only had conversations with CEOs in the oil industry, but also with people in the broader energy and resources industry, especially in the mineral sector. They are obviously concerned about the possibility of tariffs being imposed. But they also agree with me that there is a way to cooperate with Americans and American companies to ensure that not only Canadians talk with Trump officials, but Americans also talk with Trump officials about the shortcomings of tariffs in these two matters and the advantages related to further cooperation in the future. So I will definitely worry, but there is no panic. People are very strategic about this.

Can Canada allow Trump to impose broad tariffs but exempt oil

Obviously, we are working hard to dissuade him from imposing tariffs universally. For example, if he wants to implement broad-based tariffs that do not include energy, Canada still needs to respond. Canada will never stand idly by and watch our automotive industry or other sectors suffer heavy losses. We need to respond in a thoughtful manner to truly exert maximum pressure on the President and the countries that benefit from trade with Canada. So I'm not sure if this will completely change our strategy.

Will the oil export tax be put on the agenda in this situation

I think nothing is impossible. But as I said, my primary starting point is to make the government believe that we can do more through joint cooperation.

Look, if they impose tariffs on oil, it will lead to an increase in oil prices in the United States. There is no way to solve this problem. If they impose tariffs on electricity and hydropower, the electricity prices paid by consumers will increase. If they impose tariffs on potassium fertilizer, American food producers will have to pay a price, and food prices in the United States will rise. In a relatively short period of time, they will see price increases and inflation intensify. This goes against the goals that President Trump stated during his presidential campaign that he wants to achieve.

In this spirit, we can propose a series of projects that can truly help them. For example, one of the key minerals banned by major Asian countries from being shipped to the United States is germanium. There is a mine in Alaska that produces concentrate containing germanium. It is processed at the Teck factory in Trail, British Columbia. There is an opportunity to significantly increase the amount of germanium produced from this. Isn't it better to think about how we can leverage our relative capabilities than imposing tariffs on each other, with American mines, Canadian processing, and primarily used for defense applications in the United States?

How to convey this message to Trump

Obviously, we may need to explain this to some of the people he regularly talks to. This not only includes the people he appointed in his own government, but also some key senators such as Lindsey Graham. But I always believe that Americans talk to Americans more effectively than Canadians talk to Americans. Therefore, we hope to collaborate with our industry to activate all companies with connections in the United States that can play an effective role in lobbying efforts. This is certainly an association like the American Petroleum Institute, but it also includes companies. Take ExxonMobil, the largest oil and gas company in the United States, as an example. It owns 70% of the shares here. Many of these products are shipped to ExxonMobil owned refineries in the United States. ExxonMobil can be a very effective advocate for us.