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"We have one integrated Great Lakes economy," she said. "In fact, 59 per cent of American imports coming in from Canada are either raw materials or other products that are not yet finished and are being exported to the United States for final assembly, often before being sent right back to Canada to their final customers, their final consumers." 

The mayors were in Washington for the annual gathering of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, a group of municipal and Indigenous government leaders who represent the region.

Gary, Ind., Mayor Eddie Melton said his state's economy is reliant on trade with Canada in areas such as energy, manufacturing and transportation. He said he travelled to Washington to ask for a "steady trade environment." 

"Specifically, we are advocating against blanket 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports, which will only threaten American jobs and exacerbate inflation," he said. "Our shared prosperity depends on maintaining free-flowing efficient trade between our countries." 

According to the cities initiative, the region's economy supports 50 million jobs and is worth over $8 trillion — making it the equivalent of the third-largest economy in the world.

Friday's news conference came after two Canadian mayors — Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante and St. Catharine's, Ont., Mayor Mat Siscoe — were denied access to a meeting at the White House earlier in the day. The White House cited "diplomatic protocol" as the reason there "wasn’t enough time to process the requests of the Canadian mayors," the cities initiative said in a statement, adding that Canadian mayors have attended the White House meetings in previous years without issue.

Instead, only American mayors attended the meeting with an "administration official," said Mayor Austin Bonta of Portage, Ind. The cities initiative, he said, felt it was important to attend because the mayors wanted to build a relationship with the Trump administration.

"My hope is that next year we go back to how it's been in previous years where we were all able to get in," Bonta said. The mayors and the White House official discussed protecting the Great Lakes, and how the trade dispute "impacts all of us because our region is one very united economy."

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday granted Canada and Mexico a partial reprieve from 25 per cent tariffs until April 2, but also said he plans to move ahead with 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum starting March 12. 

At Friday's conference, the mayors spoke about how the duties on U.S. imports from Canada would hurt Canadian sales and raise prices for U.S. consumers. One mayor from New York also pointed out that parts of her state are also facing the threat of a 25 per cent retaliatory surcharge on electricity from Ontario announced by Premier Doug Ford. Shawyn Patterson-Howard said tariffs could cost the average New York family between $1,200 and $3,000 a year.

Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand expressed frustration with Trump's erratic trade policies.

"Our two countries are not engaged in a game of chess. This has become more like a game of whack-a-mole," he said, adding, "but this isn’t a game at all, we’re dealing with real livelihoods." 

This report by ¹ú²úÓÕ»ó¸£Àû was first published March 7, 2025.

— By Morgan Lowrie in Montreal