Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday (November 26) said Canada must stay united against a threat by Donald Trump to impose tariffs but two major provinces quickly called on him to address the U.S. President-elect's concerns.

Trudeau, who is due to meet the premiers of the 10 provinces on Wednesday to discuss U.S. relations, often notes his Liberal government has four years' experience of dealing with the first Trump administration.

"This is a relationship that we know takes a certain amount of working on, and that's what we'll do," Trudeau told reporters. "One of the really important things is that we be all pulling together on this."

He later attended a question period with the Parliament in which he was asked about concrete plans to respond to Trump's threat and safeguard Canadian jobs.

The Canadian PM said him and other premiers are pulling together "a Team Canada approach" to work constructively with Trump's incoming administration and create prosperity.

"We're engaging in constructive ways to protect Canadian jobs like we have before. I don't think the idea of going to war with the United States is what anyone wants. What we will do is stand up for Canadian jobs as we have before, as we will continue to. Stand up for the prosperity we create when we work together, stand up for the challenges that we're facing, that we're protecting Canadians from. There is work we can do together. That is the work we will do seriously, methodically, but without freaking out the way the leader of the NDP seems to be."

Trump said on Monday he would impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico until they clamped down on drugs, particularly fentanyl, and migrants crossing the border. Such a tariff would badly hit the economy of Canada, which sends 75% of all goods exports to the United States.

Trump vows big tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China