Premier Ranj Pillai said he did not discuss any retaliatory measures against proposed U.S. tariffs while meeting with the son of the U.S. president-elect.

In a Jan. 14 phone interview with the News, Pillai said that his Dec. 21 meeting with Donald Trump Jr. ran about 45 minutes. According to a press release that was sent to media on Dec. 23, the meeting took place in North Carolina.

Pillai said retaliatory measures against the tariffs Trump is planning to launch against Canada weren91裸聊视频檛 part of the conversation.

91裸聊视频淚 think the appropriate thing to do in the initial conversation, from my experience, was to talk about the positive things that can happen, not to walk into a discussion that I'm invited to talk about retaliatory to start,91裸聊视频� said Pillai.

Pillai said the meeting was scheduled after the Dec. 16 Council of the Federation meeting of the premiers in Toronto.

Three former Canadian ambassadors to the United States 91裸聊视频� Frank McKenna, David MacNaughton and Gary Doer 91裸聊视频� spoke to all the premiers at the meeting, and said they needed to 91裸聊视频渆ducate U.S. lawmakers and decision makers around the fact that these tariffs that were being talked about would be incredibly damaging to not just Canada, but the U.S. as well,91裸聊视频� said Pillai.

Chrystia Freeland, who had resigned from the federal cabinet that day, also spoke to the premiers only hours after announcing her resignation, said Pillai.

91裸聊视频淎t that point, you know, there was, there was really a dialog at the table amongst premiers to do everything we possibly could, to reach out to governors, to anybody we knew in the US that we felt could help educate the next administration around how damning these tariffs would be,91裸聊视频� said Pillai. 91裸聊视频淎nd so at that point is when I reached out to Donald Trump Jr., somebody I had met in January of 2024, at a conference and just asked if there was an opportunity to meet.91裸聊视频�

Pillai said he had met Trump Jr. at an outdoor and hunting conference in Nevada in January 2024, while the premier was away on personal time.

Trump Jr. hunts in the Yukon, said Chuck Paddock. MacMillan River Adventures, a hunting outfit operating north of Faro is owned by a U.S. company that Trump Jr. partially owns, said Paddock, who works with the outfitter.

However, the outfitter of record associated with the concession is a Yukoner, who is a small percentage owner and runs the concession, Paddock explained.

After the Council of the Federation meeting where premiers discussed reaching out to American contacts, Pillai said he was told Trump Jr. would be available the following weekend to meet. Pillai said it was an opportunity to discuss the tariffs.

The premier said he told Trump Jr. that if one were to 91裸聊视频渢ake away91裸聊视频� the export of oil from Western Canada to the United States, 91裸聊视频渁ctually the US has a trade surplus with us, when you talk about the services and goods that are traded.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚f you really want to focus as a country, the US really wants to focus on trade deficits, they should look at other countries. They should be looking at Mexico and China and Vietnam and European Union,91裸聊视频� Pillai said.

Per the definition provided by the Cambridge Dictionary, if the value of the goods and services a country imports (buys from other countries) is higher than the value of what it exports (sells to other countries), it91裸聊视频檚 in a trade deficit.

The trade deficit between the United States and Canada has been a topic of discussion for president-elect Donald Trump, including at a Jan. 7 press conference, per a Jan. 7 report by .

As reported by on Nov. 26, 2024, Trump threatened 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico over border security and drug trafficking via social media on Nov. 25 of last year.

According to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the American trade deficit with Canada is currently $40.6 billion.

91裸聊视频淭here's a number of countries in, that have a much different or a much greater trade deficit, or they have a greater trade deficit with and that's where they should focus,91裸聊视频� said Pillai.

91裸聊视频淎nd with Canada, they should be focusing on working collaboratively with us to make sure that our economies can grow but independently, because we're two separate countries, and make sure that things that we think about, like Arctic security, are areas that we can work together on.91裸聊视频�

Pillai said he did not discuss retaliatory measures from Canada against tariffs in his conversation with Trump Jr.

Pillai said there is discussion among premiers for a trip to Washington D.C. in February.

He said two dates for this trip have been identified: one being Feb. 12, and then the week of Feb. 22, which coincides with a U.S. governors91裸聊视频� conference in the American capital. However, he said details have not yet been released and his office has not yet made a decision about his attendance.

91裸聊视频淚t looks to me that there will be some tariffs, and making sure we minimize them is incredibly important at this time,91裸聊视频� said Pillai.

Contact Talar Stockton at talar.stockton@yukon-news.com