Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is kicking off a tour of aluminum and steel factories Monday with a visit to Quebec’s Saguenay region, Hamilton, Sault Ste. Marie and Regina.

============================================================

Trudeau wants to show support for workers in an industry that is facing uncertainty after Trump slapped steel and aluminum tariffs on the rest of the world, a spokesperson said.

MONTREAL—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government will support workers in the steel and aluminum industries worried about a wave of protectionism in the United States.

While Canada has managed to get itself exempted from new American tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the country, Trudeau said the country can’t take anything for granted given U.S. President Donald Trump’s presidency, which he said has been marked by “moments of unpredictability.”

Speaking in a morning interview with Radio-Canada in the Saguenay region of Quebec, where he is visiting Rio Tinto’s aluminum-producing facilities, the Liberal Party leader said that the exemption was a common-sense decision given the integrated nature of the Canadian and American economies.

“But with this wave of protectionism, we have to consider ourselves lucky each time we work hard enough to avoid the worst consequences,” he said.

Trudeau said it’s also important to show a strong and united front with talks ongoing to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump has threatened several times to scrap if he can’t get a new deal that is more advantageous for the U.S.