Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says sweeping tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump are a “very dumb thing to do,” while warning Canadians of a “tough” road ahead.
Trudeau made the comments after the first round of U.S. tariffs and Canada’s counter-tariffs went into effect Tuesday, marking the start of a trade war between the long-time North American allies.
“To my fellow Canadians, I won’t sugarcoat it. This is going to be tough, even though we’re all going to pull together because that’s what we do,” Trudeau said at a press conference in Ottawa.
As of Tuesday, a sweeping 25 per cent tariff has been imposed on all goods entering the United States from both Canada and Mexico, with a 10 per cent tariff on Canada’s energy exports.
In response, Canada has hit back with an initial 25 per cent tariff on $30 billion worth of U.S. goods, with additional tariffs on another $125 billion in American goods to come three weeks later, Trudeau said.
“Canada will not let this unjustified decision go unanswered,” Trudeau said in a statement on Monday night, hours before the U.S. deadline.
“Our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. trade action is withdrawn, and should U.S. tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures,” he added.
“While we urge the U.S. administration to reconsider their tariffs, Canada remains firm in standing up for our economy, our jobs, our workers, and for a fair deal.”
In addition to the counter-tariffs, Ottawa will also file dispute resolution claims at the World Trade Organization and through the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) for these “illegal actions,” Trudeau told reporters on Tuesday.
“Canadians are reasonable and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight, not when our country and the well-being of everyone in it is at stake,” he said, adding that “this is a time to hit back hard and to demonstrate that a fight with Canada will have no winners.”
Trump had signed an executive order on Feb. 1 to levy the duties on the U.S.’s neighbours, initially citing concerns about the flow of illegal migrants and fentanyl.
The broad-based tariffs were put on hold for 30 days after new border security commitments were made by Canada, but Trump pulled the trigger on Tuesday.
In response to Trump’s original vow of 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods, Canada released its own list of planned counter-tariffs.
Trudeau said there was “absolutely no justification” for the U.S. tariffs, arguing that Canada has delivered on its promises to strengthen border security, including a $1.3-billion plan and the appointment of a new fentanyl czar.
Trump has repeatedly cited the flow of fentanyl as the reason for imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
Trudeau said that excuse was “completely bogus.”
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“So we actually have to fold back on the one thing he has said repeatedly — that what he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy, because that will make it easier to annex us, is the second half of his thought.”
That’s “never going to happen,” he said.
Addressing Trump directly, Trudeau said: “Now, it’s not in my habit to agree with the Wall Street Journal, but Donald, they point out that even though you’re a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do.”
He was referring to a WSJ opinion piece from Monday titled: “Trump Takes the Dumbest Tariff Plunge.”
To help Canadian workers and businesses deal with the impact of the trade war, the federal government will be using “every tool at our disposal,” Trudeau said. This includes looking at changes to Employment Insurance, he said.
“We will be looking at, including looking in the coming day, at things we can do around adjusting EI, to support people through this difficult time.”
Meanwhile, Canada is bracing for two more rounds of tariffs threatened by the Trump administration, including additional 25 per cent duties on all steel and aluminium imports coming to the U.S., including from Canada, set to go into effect March 12.
On April 2, Trump is also planning to impose global reciprocal tariffs on all of America’s trading partners, including Canada.
How provinces are responding
Canadian provinces swiftly responded with their own retaliatory measures.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he is following through on previously announced measures, including ripping up a $100-million deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX for Starlink internet in remote areas.
The LCBO has also been ordered to remove U.S. alcohol from its shelves and American companies will be banned from bidding on public contracts.
Furthermore, Ford said he could legislate Buy Ontario, and went on U.S. television threatening to cut off energy to some states over the tariffs. His team has said those threats wouldn’t happen all at once, and would be phased in.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called Trump’s tariffs “foolish” and “an unjustifiable economic attack on Canadians and Albertans.” Smith said she supports the federal government’s response.
“Now is the time for us to unite as a province and a country,” she said in a statement.
New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said Trump’s “illegal, unjustified” tariffs will have a big impact in the province, but it could be an opportunity to open new markets.
The New Brunswick government has already stopped buying American products and it is working to lift interprovincial trade barriers, Holt said.
In its “four-pillar response plan,” the province revealed Tuesday it plans to support affected New Brunswickers, offer relief to businesses, break down interprovincial trade barriers and promote a “NB Made” campaign.
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said the province will also respond immediately by limiting access to provincial procurement for American businesses.
Houston said the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. has been directed to remove all U.S. alcohol from its shelves, and the government will double the tolls at the Cobequid Pass for American commercial vehicles travelling that stretch of highway in the province’s north.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said that Trump “stabbed America’s best friend in the back.”
“My message to the president is this: Canada will fight back,” Poilievre said.
Speaking at a press conference in Ottawa Tuesday, he added: “There’s no doubt that our economy will suffer, but so will yours President Trump. In fact, you’re already paying the price with trillions of dollars erased in stock market value over the last month of these threats.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called for an emergency session of Parliament, which has been prorogued until March 24 to allow the Liberal party to hold a leadership contest, set for March 9, and a transition from one prime minister to a new one.
“The impact of this is probably the worst economic attack on our country that we have experienced in our lifetime and the repercussions can be devastating,” he said.
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson told reporters in Toronto that Trump’s tariffs ensure “we can no longer rely on the Americans in the way that we have in the past.”
“We will never go back to where we were three months ago with our friends in the United States,” he said. “We will never be able to trust them in the same way that we did before.”
‘No one wins’: Canadian businesses raise concerns
Business groups in Canada are concerned about the impact of the trade war, urging the federal government for support.
The Business Council of Canada said the U.S. tariffs on Canada violates the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
“No one wins in a trade war and the tariffs imposed today by the Trump Administration will hurt workers, farmers and families across North America — especially those in the United States,” said Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, in a statement Tuesday.
Dan Kelly, the president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), said the sweeping 25 per cent tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are a “massive broadside to the Canadian economy.”
“Many small businesses have already experienced higher costs, cancelled contracts/orders, and lower demand due to the ongoing threats. Now that they’ve been imposed, we expect to see these challenges rapidly escalate,” Kelly said in a statement.
The U.S. move was also condemned by the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters on Tuesday, saying it “threatens the future of the most successful economic relationship in the world.”
“At a time of global economic uncertainty, our two countries should be working together to strengthen North American industry — not implementing measures that will hurt businesses, workers, and consumers in both nations,” said Dennis Darby, CME president and CEO.
He also called on Ottawa to “act swiftly to protect jobs and provide relief to manufacturers most affected by these tariffs.”
— With files from Global News’ Sean Boynton, Aaron D’Andrea, Sawyer Bodgan, Phil Heidenreich and Rebecca Lau
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