Trudeau tours Hamilton’s steel mills

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Hamilton Tuesday, part of his cross country tour to show support for the steel industry.

At Dofasco, Trudeau was greeted by more than 60 workers who have been on edge, even with Canada’s exemption from the 25% steel tariffs because Trump has said he will only exclude Canada if he receives a deal that is fair to the United States.

“We have stood up for Canadian interests, we’ve stood up for Canadian jobs and for great Canadian workers who we are surrounded by today and we will continue to.”

28% of the volume of steel from Dofasco is exported to the United States, which would mean large impacts on the company if the tariffs are imposed. The President and CEO of Dofasco says he is optimistic with Trudeau’s work.

“I’m very confident and we will continue to have dialogue. There’s been working groups set up to talk about some of the things going forward to create to proactive steps we need to deal with this potential surge.”

Earlier in the day several politicians joined the Prime Minster at a roundtable discussion where Trudeau listened to industry leaders and union representatives.

“I thought it was a very positive meeting. It left me with a sense of confidence that the federal government has this file in hand.” Mayor Fred Eisenberger.

“The Prime Minster has a lot of confidence on what will happen with the NAFTA talks, so we will be interested in seeing what comes down the line, but it was great that the Prime Minister stopped and spoke with us.” Bill Ferguson, USW Local 8782.

Workers on the frontline, including those at Stelco, also had a chance to share their concerns in a sit down meeting with Trudeau.

Trudeau has wrapped up his tour of Hamilton, late this afternoon he was off to Sault Ste. Marie before heading to Regina.