Prime Minister Justin Trudeau needs to stand up to the “bully” in the White House, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair told reporters in Ottawa Tuesday. But Mulcair, responding to yet another softwood lumber dispute with the United States, was asked several times to clarify what exactly he wants Trudeau to do in light of the U.S. decision to slap punishing duties of up to 24 per cent on lumber imports.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair comments on the softwood lumber dispute in Ottawa on April 25, 2017. (Photo: Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press) Mulcair accused Liberals of lacking a plan to respond to the tariffs and inferred several times that Trudeau was not showing enough backbone with U.S. President Donald Trump. “You know, when you’re dealing with a bully, at some point you’ve got to stop backing up,” Mulcair said. “And that’s all Mr. Trudeau seems to be able to do with President Trump and with the current U.S. administration is just keep backing up.” The NDP leader noted how Trudeau “complimented” Trump in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek last week as someone whose can be swayed by good counter-arguments. Those remarks came on the same day Trump blasted Canada’s dairy policies as a “disgrace.”

“At some point, Canadians want our prime minister to stand up for us. Same way Mr. Trump is going to keep pushing, at some point we’ve got to say, look, this is a two-way street,” Mulcair said. “And we’re going to stand our ground and push back. Mr. Trudeau seems to be incapable of doing that. That’s the honest answer.” CBC reporter Katie Simpson asked Mulcair what pushing back would look like. “I think it means explaining to the Americans that trade is not a one-way street,” Mulcair said, again accusing Trudeau of giving ground “to that bully” instead of pushing back. “But what does that look like?” Simpson asked again. “That looks like Canada explaining that on dairy the Americans are actually the winners under the current rules,” he said.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair on new softwood lumber duties: "We don't seem to have a plan" for dealing with the new U.S. administration. pic.twitter.com/3AJ5VBFJ8b — CPAC (@CPAC_TV) April 25, 2017