Trump’s tariffs on Canada takes effect, Trudeau responds

OTTAWA — The reality and the pain of a Donald Trump-led trade war set in Tuesday, and the tariff theatrics got weirder.

After the U.S. president slapped all Canadian and Mexican products with a 25 per cent import duty and a 10 per cent levy on oil and gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau channelled this country’s sense of dismay, betrayal and fury. He authorized counter-tariffs to fight back in an “unjustified” trade war launched by Trump whom he said is using border concerns as a “pretext” to “collapse” this country’s economy and “annex us.”

By then, the U.S. tariffs had been in effect since the wee hours, the stock markets had plunged, and millions of import duties due at the border were racking up.

But for Canadians and their political leaders, it was a Rubicon that had been crossed, not a border, and trust in the U.S. was broken.

Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called Premier Doug Ford at around 1 pm shortly after Ford’s press conference at Queen’s Park where he warned of escalating retaliation from Canada.

They spoke for less than a quarter of hour and, as first reported by the Globe and Mail’s Laura Stone in Washington, Lutnick implored Ford to tone down the tough talk. But sources told the Star that the premier stood his ground. The two men have spoken before and Lutnick also called Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc today.

President Donald Trump will address Congress and the American people Tuesday night as he lays out his plans for the months ahead.

The president’s remarks are slated to begin at 9 p.m. EST. Trump’s dizzying first weeks in office have featured a dismantling of the federal government, tensions with America’s allies and a trade war compounding economic uncertainty.

Business groups and union leaders across Canada blasted U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war Tuesday, calling it “self-defeating,” “shocking” and an “economic call to arms.”

Trump’s decision to go ahead with 25 per cent tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico — which kicked in Tuesday at 12:01 a.m., is a return to the 1800s, said Candace Laing, CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

“The U.S. government’s self-defeating tariff policy disregards decades of success and trillions in trade to try and revive a failed economic model from the 1800s,” said Laing in a written statement. “The U.S. can claim this policy is about hitting Canada where it hurts, but it will soon see the disastrous impacts at home in cities like Detroit, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Louisville.”

If there was any doubt that Canada-U.S. relations have reached a breaking point this week, Justin Trudeau dispelled it in a remarkable address on Tuesday that tackled Donald Trump head on and personally, writes Susan Delacourt.

It can be argued that no Canadian prime minister, at least in living memory, has called out an American president in such a public, withering way. “We’re insulted and we’re angry,” Trudeau said bluntly.

The U.S. will not annex Canada, writes David Olive. It’s too weak to do so.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened 25 per cent tariffs on most goods imported from Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday.

Trump has often expressed his predatory regard for Canada.But America lacks the ability to occupy the world’s second-largest country.

Putting aside the downfall of Napoleon and Hitler after they invaded Russia, the U.S. has too many internal crises to engage in large-scale territorial aggression.

The U.S. is heading toward insolvency.

America’s budget deficit hit $1.8 trillion (U.S.) in 2024, the third-highest shortfall in history after the pandemic-related deficits of 2020 and 2021.

Protesters who gathered across the U.S. to push back against Trump’s second-term agenda have so many things that they’re mad about that they’re having trouble settling on a single, unifying theme.

“There are so many things to fight, but I hope by being here we are starting some conversations,” said Sara Grummer-Strawn, a protester in Atlanta who held a sign declaring “So Much Wrong, So Little Space,” followed by a small-print litany of topics from Ukraine and tariffs to potential education cuts to the denial of climate and vaccine science.

Along with tariffs and Trump’s reset on the war in Ukraine, protesters decried the aggressive and sometimes legally dubious actions of the Department of Government Efficiency and its leader, billionaire Elon Musk.

Trump was called a fascist, a “Russian asset,” “Putin’s Puppet” and “Wannabe King,” among other, more profane monikers. One signed implored “Punch Nazis,” reflecting an increasingly common effort to compare Trump’s presidency to Nazi Germany.

In an interview with the Toronto Star, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey said “there needs to be a strategic approach that balances appeasement with escalation” and that the prime minister’s remarks struck the right balance Tuesday, and alerted Canadians to the real threat they face.

Furey said one of the most “chilling moments” the premiers faced on their recent trip to Washington was to hear American officials tell them “in very straight and direct terms that ‘take the president at his word.’”

“And they were confused, perhaps, that we were confused that this could be just rhetoric.” American officials told them Trump was serious about tariffs and about his belief that “Canada could be a beautiful 51st state.”

Furey said American officials have also conveyed to the federal government Trump sees tariffs as a way to raise revenues and to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.

“He’s never going to change his mind,” said Furey.

A small group of protesters with Canadian and Ukrainian flags gathered outside the U.S. embassy in Ottawa, demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump, according to posts on social media.

Swiss Chocolate maker Lindt said Tuesday the company will shift its operations to avoid Canadian retaliatory tariffs on the U.S., supplying Canada with chocolate made in Europe instead of America, according to Reuters.

Normally, half of Lindt products that are sold in Canada – which include Lindor chocolate truffle balls, gold Easter bunnies and caramel squares – come from the U.S., while the other half are shipped from Europe.

That balance can be shifted, Lindt & Spruengli CEO Adalbert Lechner said Tuesday after the company reported its full-year financials, according to Reuters. “We are able to source 100% from Europe,” Lechner said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly tells CBC that the Canadian and Mexican government officials have been unable to speak directly with their counterparts Tuesday on a day when the U.S. launched a trade war against them.

She said has set up a conversation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio tomorrow. Joly said the president has invoked a national security crisis at the border to justify his tariffs and “if the president is not using these powers according to his own constitution” those are questions for him.

Yukon is no longer placing orders for U.S.-made alcohol and is removing American products from for all government liquor stores in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods.

A statement from Premier Ranj Pillai says businesses may continue to sell the American-made products they already have in stock, but no new orders for U.S. alcohol will be placed by the territory’s distributor, the Yukon Liquor Corporation.

Pillai says the 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods by the United States are “unjustified and short-sighted” and his government is updated its procurement policies to encourage the purchase of more goods and services from local businesses and non-U. S. companies.

ST. JOHN’S, N.L.—Atlantic Canadian premiers woke up Tuesday in a trade war with the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on most Canadian products, making good on months of threats. Energy flowing from Canada to the U.S. will be hit with 10 per cent duties.

The tariffs mark a stark new reality and a turning point for Atlantic Canada, says New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt.

The Canadian Live Music Association says it’s responding to the U.S. tariffs with a new campaign to promote homegrown musicians and venues.

The music advocacy group says it will launch “Canada is Live Music” in the coming weeks and draw attention to concerts as “a tangible lever that inspires solidarity and national pride.”

The public awareness campaign will also promote live music’s role as a driver of jobs, the economy and culture, as well as encourage various levels of government to work more closely with the sector.

The push comes after U.S. President Donald Trump slapped a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods on Tuesday, which even before its introduction had ratcheted up tensions between the two countries and stoked national pride at home.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said he’ll bring in tax deferrals on “provincially administered taxes like the health and education levy and the retail sales tax” to allow businesses to keep cash on hand to protect workers and their jobs; will pull American booze off Manitoba liquor shelves, and will roll out unspecified additional “non-tariff measures” if the U.S. tariffs persist. Kinew said he fully supports the federal government’s retaliatory counter-tariff plan.

Kinew says the provincial Crown corp Manitoba Liquor Mart will withdraw American alcohol and the province is asking privately owned shops that sell booze to do the same, saying that they’re on board.

“The good news about this is that the Canadian booze is way better than the American stuff,” he said. He said on the premiers’ call with the Prime Minister today he urged other provinces to use this shipping season out of Churchill as “proof of concept to show how we can diversify reaching international markets” for critical minerals, agricultural and mining products, energy and others.

“Let’s be serious about Trump proofing our Canadian economy, including accessing international markets through tidewater in Churchill.”

If there was any doubt that Canada-U.S. relations have reached a breaking point this week, Justin Trudeau dispelled it in a remarkable address on Tuesday that tackled Donald Trump head on and personally.

It can be argued that no Canadian prime minister, at least in living memory, has called out an American president in such a public, withering way. “We’re insulted and we’re angry,” Trudeau said bluntly.

It started with Trudeau’s opening line, when he put the newly levied tariffs against Canada and Mexico in the larger frame of Trump’s disruption of world order.

“Today the United States launched a trade war against Canada. At the same time, they’re talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying, murderous dictator,” Trudeau said. “Make that make sense.”

He devoted part of his prepared remarks to addressing Trump directly, calling him “Donald,” which could be interpreted as an appeal to the personal relationship, but also, perhaps, a not-so-subtle reply to being repeatedly called “governor” by the president (which Trump did again on Tuesday in a social media post).

“I want to speak directly to one specific American,” Trudeau said. “Donald, in over eight years, you and I have worked together, we’ve done big things. We signed a historic deal that has created record jobs and growth in both of our countries. We’ve done big things together on the world stage.”

Brace yourselves. Because this is almost certainly just the beginning.

The 25 per cent tariffs imposed Tuesday by U.S. President Donald Trump are the launch of a trade war, not the extent of it. Already on Trump’s docket are additional 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum coming March 12, tariffs on agricultural products and cars coming April 2, more tariffs on lumber coming beyond that.

Looming over all of it is Trump’s persistently repeated desire to take over Canada through economic force.

Watching Trump, in the same week as these tariffs finally hit, pull out the underpinnings of the democratic world order by belligerently and publicly siding with Russia in the Ukraine war, leaves no room for reassuring theories that this is just some negotiating tactic.

In an interview, Unifor national president Lana Payne said Canada needs to hit back with everything it has.

“This is an all out trade war. And this president has been engaged in economic warfare against for multiple weeks against Canada and Canadian workers,” said Payne. “We don’t have a choice here. If we want to have an industry that survives in this country, Canada is going to have to retaliate with tariffs but also with non-tariff measures. … The tariffs alone will not be enough. We’re going to have to look at what we send to the United States and what we don’t send anymore. We’re going to have to look at what we charge for those things,” said Payne.

Retaliation is the only way to help end the war, Payne said.

“What I understand from my world of bargaining and getting into a place like this — there’s got to be a way to bring it to a head. And apparently the only way it is brought to a head is, is if there is also a recognition south of the border that this is bad for them. And right now, not enough people are screaming, ‘this is bad for us.’ And so we’ve got to get to that place.”

Hours after sweeping tariffs were imposed by the U.S., Canadian officials began to make their feelings clear.

“An unjustifiable attack,” a “foolish” failure, a threat to Canada’s sovereignty — or, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau put it, “a very dumb thing to do.”

Trudeau, speaking to reporters in Ottawa Tuesday morning, accused the Trump administration of starting a trade war against its “closest partner,” while at the same time, seeking to appease Russia, which he called a “murderous dictatorship.”

On Tuesday, the U.S. imposed 25 per cent tariffs on almost all goods from both Canada and Mexico, along with a 10 per cent tariff on Canada’s energy exports. In turn, Canada has levied an initial 25 per cent tariff on $30 billion worth of U.S. goods, with a promise to extend them to $125 billion in American goods near the end of March.

Asked if he views the tariffs as an act of war, Trudeau called the move a “policy decision (…) designed to go after the Canadian economy.”

“This is a trade war, yes,” he said.

WINNIPEG—The Manitoba government is pulling United States products from liquor store shelves and offering tax deferrals to Manitoba businesses.

The moves, announced on social media by Premier Wab Kinew, are in response to tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Kinew says because of the tariffs, businesses will be able to defer paying their provincial payroll and sales taxes for at least three months.

He says that will protect jobs and let businesses keep cash on hand.

Workers at the General Motors CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont. were told to stay home this week and next week due to “volume correction,” Mike Van Boekel, chair of the local Unifor union at the plant, said.

But with the start of Trump’s tariffs on Tuesday, Boekel fears he and other workers won’t be back to work anytime soon.

“If 25 per cent tariffs stay, I would think the whole industry will shut down within a week or 10 days,” he said.

Still, he supports the response from Canadian officials at all levels of government to Trump’s trade policies.

“I think we have to do something. I think we just can’t sit there and take it.”

REGINA—Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is facing calls from within his province and from a fellow premier to hit back on punishing U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters Tuesday Moe should consider no longer selling potash, uranium and oil to the United States and instead find different markets.

“I consider Scott Moe a good friend of mine … and I’ve talked to him. We need to make sure America feels the pain,” Ford said.

“Without potash down there, (the United States) doesn’t have a farming system. When it comes to uranium, they’re using that to enrich their uranium down in the U.S. for their nuclear energy.

“Everyone wants (Moe’s) uranium, but ship it out to other places.”

OTTAWA—The United States imposed sweeping tariffs Tuesday on Canadian products, claiming Canada has failed to adequately address the southbound flow of contraband drugs like fentanyl.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dismissed the U.S. rationale as “completely bogus, completely unjustified, completely false.”

“Our border is already safe and secure,” Trudeau told a news conference Tuesday.

He said Canada accounts for well under one per cent of fentanyl seized at the northern border and less than one per cent of illegal crossings into the United States.

“But we acted because we know we can always do better,” he said.

2:05 p.m. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called Trump’s tariffs “illegal” but praised Canadian “defiance” in a news conference on Tuesday, as he repeated his call for an emergency sitting of Parliament for a looming crisis that he said could be worse than the pandemic.

Singh is calling for an expansion to EI eligibility and amounts to support workers affected by Trump’s tariffs.

Singh was not clear about what supports require legislation in Parliament to be implemented.

Singh said he has not had any discussions with any government officials or Liberal leadership candidates about a possible relief package for Canadians.

2 p.m. Tuesday’s tariffs — combined with additional tariffs on steel and aluminum scheduled to take effect next week — are going to wreak havoc on the highly-integrated auto industry, said Flavio Volpe, president and CEO of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association.

Volpe said automotive assembly plants and parts makers across the continent will be shut down within a week. “Everybody is very anxious, waiting for the moment when their customers are going to say ‘stop shipping,’” Volpe said in an interview.

Canadian views on Trump and America have reached historic lows, shows an Angus Reid poll of 2,005 released Tuesday.

Only 24 per cent of respondents hold a favourable view of the U.S., down from 40 per cent in January, while only 23 per cent say the Canadian government should be treating our southern neighbours as a “valued partner and ally” or “on friendly terms.”

Fifty-five per cent of respondents to the poll chose “angry” among a list of words to describe their feelings towards Trump’s threat of tariffs and annexation. The other two most commonly chosen words were “betrayed” and “anxious.”

Trump’s tariffs are a “reckless attack on all workers, both Canadian and American,” Teamsters Canada president François Laporte said in a post on X. “This attack will inflict profound hardship on working families in both countries.”

The trade union president called on Canada to “retaliate firmly and decisively.”

“Canada has been disrespected, threatened with annexation, and seen decades of friendship and alliance trampled,” Laporte said. “Canadians won’t fold.”

1:25 p.m. At Queen’s Park, NDP Leader Marit Stiles tells the Star’s Kristin Rushowy, “we have an opportunity here to work together against one of the biggest threats we’ve seen as a province, as a country.” Stiles has spoken with Ford.

“I … indicated to the premier that I really believe we have to stand united as a country, and as a province,” she said. Ford praised her and Green Leader Mike Schreiner but he has still not spoken with Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie.

“Please explain to Governor Trudeau, of Canada, that when he puts on a Retaliatory Tariff on the U.S., our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!,” Trump said. 

Poilievre, who has not committed specifically to hit the 2 per cent of GDP NATO spending target, says Canada “must secure our borders and rebuild our North,” and the military “to assert our sovereignty and strength in the world.” He says all his policies – “axing axes, building homes, unleashing construction of our resources, fixing the budget” – were “Conservative fixations before the tariffs. Now they are even more necessary.”

And he criticizes the fact that parliament is not sitting in order to do the things he recommends, including killing the “job-killing” carbon tax.

Poilievre cites his plan to hire 2,000 more border agents, and use more technology and surveillance at the border.

Poilievre shrugs off Trump’s comments that he’s not a MAGA guy, and agrees. He asserts that he knows Trump doesn’t like him, and he’s fine with that, he’s not here to be liked by Trump. “It is true that I am Canada First.”

Poilievre says there is “no doubt that our economy will suffer, but so will yours, President Trump. You’re already paying the price of trillions of dollars raised in stock market value over the last month.”

He notes that “already Americans are paying higher gas prices as at midnight, a new American gas tax kicked in.”

“Your workers will soon start losing jobs,” Poilievre continued.

Poilievre has in the past argued for dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs, and lists the order those must roll out, calling on Ottawa to first target American goods “that we can make ourselves, B) goods we don’t need, and C) goods we can get from elsewhere.” And he repeats the same demands he’s made previously, and just now in French.

Poilievre begins in French, saying Canada will retaliate and he will defend the interests of Canadian workers.

“I’ll fight to put Canada First,” he says, echoing the recent re-framed slogan that he’s used to pitch his policy promises to cut income taxes, including the carbon tax, and other measures such as expediting energy project approvals in order to diversify Canada’s economy.

Poilievre is repeating his demand that any revenues raised by Canadian counter-tariffs must be used to help workers and businesses here; that there is an immediate tax cut including his call for a GST cut on new homes, to goose the Canadian economy.

Poilievre has long argued to repeal an environmental assessment law the Trudeau government passed, that he, along with AB and SK governments, say acts as an impediment to resource developments, to mines, and other projects. “I am for pipelines,” he says.

In English, Poilievre says Donald Trump has “stabbed America’s best friend in the back. My message to the President is this, Canada will fight back.”

Ebby accused the Trump administration of shifting the goalposts during negotiations leading up to the initiation of tariffs.

“When the President raised the issue of tariffs, he said it was about fentanyl on the border,” Eby said. “I would say that without doubt, the President’s demands were met, and yet it did not matter because obviously, that’s not what this is about.”

“As the President has repeated many times, he wants to make Canada the 51st state – and Canada will never be the 51st state.”

In response, Eby announced B.C. retailers would strip all red state products from their shelves. He went on to assure constituents that their province had “resources that the world needs: cheap, clean electricity, critical minerals, lumber, agricultural products, and tourism, right here in B.C.”

“We are strong, we are tough, we are resilient, and we are exceptional, and we are ready to meet this moment,” he said. “This is a moment for us to take an attack, and turn it into a source of strength for ourselves as a province and as a country.”

Alberta premier Danielle Smith said the tariffs represent a “clear breach” of the trade agreement signed by Trump himself during his first term, calling them an “unjustifiable attack on Canadians and Albertans.”

“This policy is both foolish and a failure in every regard,” Smith wrote in a statement shared to social media. “This is not the way it should be between two of the world’s strongest trading allies and partners. “

Over the next two days, Smith said she plans to discuss Alberta’s response further with her cabinet, after which she will have “more to say.”

12:17 p.m. Chrystia Freeland, who is running to replace Justin Trudeau as prime minister and Liberal leader, is joining the chorus of political leaders slamming Trump’s tariffs, calling it “an act of self-mutilation” from the U.S.

Premier Doug Ford rips up Ontario’s $100 million satellite internet contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink. Ford also threatens 25 per cent on Ontario electricity exports to the U.S.

Premier Doug Ford warns that auto plants could be idle within 10 days due to supply disruption caused by Trump “chaos.”

Doug Ford takes aim at Elon Musk, who went to Queen’s University in Kingston. Ford says Ontario helped educate Musk and Queen’s should be “embarrassed” he was a Golden Gael.

About 1.5 million U.S. customers in Michigan, New York and Minnesota rely on Ontario electricity.

The premier also said American companies will not be able to bid on the $30 billion worth of procurement contracts the province awards each year, or bid on contracts related to his $200-billion infrastructure plan to build highways, tunnels, transit, hospitals and jails.

12 p.m. Premier Doug Ford meeting with reporters at Queen’s Park to discuss Ontario’s response. The premier was awaiting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to complete his news conference in Ottawa. Ford, Trudeau and the other first ministers will hold a virtual meeting at 2:30 p.m.

While Marcella Fiorini, a robotics teacher at a Toronto private school, said she doesn’t expect the tariffs to impact her personally, she does worry the price tag on materials she orders for her students from California could go up from the trade war.

“We’re a pretty affluent school,” she said Tuesday morning, “But a lot of the schools and other boards also buy from the U.S. and it’s going to be prohibitive.”

She wants to buy Canadian-made materials, but said it’ll be hard since “they’re not available here.”

When Jonathan Arendt, a Toronto private school teacher originally from Louisiana, told his relatives back in the U.S. that he and his immediate family would not be coming for their annual visits going forward, they didn’t understand.

“They were like, ‘Why are you going to let that stuff get in the way, dude? You’re fine, you have a job, you have money’” he said.

None of his relatives believe they’ll be impacted by the tariffs, he explained. The one exception is his brother, whose chemical plant in Louisiana has already been given notice that layoffs are imminent.

“(Tariffs) are disastrous. They’re unnecessary,” Arendt said, “But a lot of Americans are behind them right now, at least in my area, because they don’t know what’s going on.”

Business groups and union leaders across Canada blasted U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war Tuesday, calling it “self-defeating,” “shocking” and an “economic call to arms.”

Trump’s decision to go ahead with 25 per cent tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico — which kicked in Tuesday at 12:01 a.m., is a return to the 1800s, said Candace Laing, CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

“The U.S. government’s self-defeating tariff policy disregards decades of success and trillions in trade to try and revive a failed economic model from the 1800s,” said Laing in a written statement. “The U.S. can claim this policy is about hitting Canada where it hurts, but it will soon see the disastrous impacts at home in cities like Detroit, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Louisville.”

Trudeau says Canadians will continue to boycott U.S. products and maybe boo the anthem, but adds “let me tell Americans, we’re not booing you. We’re not booing your teams. We’re not booing your players.”

“We’re booing a policy that is designed to hurt us.”

11:45 a.m. Asked if he views these tariffs as an act of war against Canada, Trudeau calls it a “policy decision by the American government designed to go after the Canadian economy. This is a trade war, yes.”

In French, Trudeau says there is “unity” in the courage and determination shown by Canadians to stand together against the U.S. tariffs. He contrasts that with American families who have difficult conversations ahead of them because the harm being done to them is being done by their own president.

11:42 a.m. Trudeau didn’t give any specifics on what non-tariff measures he would back but mentioned restrictions on U.S. companies bidding on government procurement. Asked if he’d levy export tariffs on energy, uranium or potash if provinces disagree, he doesn’t specifically say. But he asserts there is unity among Canadians about the need to respond forcefully.

In the morning press conference, Trudeau is asked how long he will remain on the job. He said it will be a conversation with the next Liberal leader and that it’s a complicated time. But he expects fairly rapidly there will be a handover.

11:38 a.m. Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske warned against job losses and economic pain in a statement on Tuesday and said governments across the country cannot respond with “half-measures” and “empty words.”

“This is a moment to rebuild our manufacturing, strengthen our supply chains, and create the good union jobs of tomorrow,” Bruske said. “This war will not be won on the cheap.”

Trudeau admits he’s been “holding out hope” that the tariffs were just “a clever negotiating ploy” that has already had an effect on investments here.

But says we’ll see the real impact of a trade war.

11:32 a.m. Trudeau: He talked again about banking barriers to U.S. banks, which the PM says are alive and well and prospering in Canada.

11:31 a.m. Trudeau says, in French, it’s not clear what Trump wants, whether it is to renegotiate CUSMA, but the prime minister doesn’t know what kind of negotiation we can undertake given his moves today. But it’s clear he is taking steps to ruin the Canadian economy with no factual justification.

Whether there is anything on the table immediately for workers, Trudeau refers to some measures under employment insurance and holds out that his priority is a swift end to this tariff war.

Trudeau: “We’re looking at all options” to help Canadian workers, jobs and businesses but reminds that there will be similar impacts on American jobs and businesses.

On whether fentanyl is really the problem here, Trudeau acknowledged that Trump’s own statement that there’s nothing Canada and Mexico can do to avoid tariffs and underlines “very clearly what I think a lot of us have suspected for a long time, that these tariffs are not specifically about fentanyl, even though that is the legal justification he must use to actually put forward.”

11:23 a.m. Trudeau continues to refer to the president by his first name: “I have offered to speak to Donald and I expect to speak to him in the days to come.”

Speaking directly to Canadians, Trudeau reiterated previous vows to defend jobs and protect Canadian companies and workers.

There have been few specifics on that coming aid. But Trudeau says in French that the last few months have been stressful and frankly exhausting for everyone but again pledges solidarity with Canadians affected by the trade war that’s unfolding now.

Trudeau now addresses “one specific American. Donald.” 

And he quotes the Wall Street Journal telling “Donald, this is a very dumb thing to do.”

11:13 a.m. Trudeau: “They’ve chosen to sabotage their own agenda that is supposed to usher in a new golden age for the United States. and they’ve chosen to undermine the incredible work we’ve done together to tackle the scourge that is fentanyl.”

He says it’s “totally false” for the U.S. administration to argue Canada is not an ally in that fight.

He called it a “pretext” being used by Trump’s administration. And he walks through in detail what Canada has done and is doing, including a total of $1.5 billion on border security and fighting criminal gangs involved in the drug trade.

 “So today the United States wants to trade war against Canada, their closest partners,” Trudeau said. At same time, he said they’re talking about appeasing Russia, a murderous dictatorship as if that makes sense.

The prime minister is speaking directly to Americans telling them “your government has chosen to put American jobs at risk.”

He said there are no winners in a trade war, and is striking an angrier tone than he did last month.

Trudeau is referencing how U.S. tariffs will hurt American farmers with higher prices on fertilizer supplied by Canada.

11:05 a.m. Trudeau’s statement Tuesday night said the federal government is coordinating with provinces on non-tariff measures, and has previously said everything is on the table, but we do not know how far that goes.

11:03 a.m. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh issued a call for an emergency session of Parliament in response to Trump’s tariffs on Tuesday, and reiterated his demand for a relief package that includes emergency support for workers and industries and investments in Canadian infrastructure and jobs.

Meanwhile, Green Party co-leaders Jonathan Pedneault and Elizabeth May said the tariffs are “nothing short of a declaration of economic war” on Canada and send a “clear message that the Trump administration seeks to destabilize Canada and fracture our democratic institutions.” -Mark Ramzy

11:01 a.m. Premier Doug Ford tells the Wall Street Journal he will impose a “25 per cent export tax” on Ontario electricity to New York, Michigan and Minnesota. Details to be announced later Tuesday.

It’s not only Canada that is rattled by the launch of a tariff-and-trade war with the United States.

American political and business leaders are also bracing for colder and harder times ahead as they contemplate the impact of higher prices on Canadian goods and a likely drop in exports to their largest trading partner.

Brewers, farmers, retailers, homebuilders, automakers and the commercial fishing industry could all be affected by higher prices on metals, fertilizers, wood products, gas, electricity and even lobster.

10:43 a.m. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston will be at Queen’s Park to meet with reporters following Premier Doug Ford’s news conference. Houston is expected to outline his province’s response to the tariffs.

The market chaos sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war continued Tuesday morning.

Stock markets around the world plunged. In Toronto, the S&P TSX Composite Index plunged by 431 points, or 1.7 per cent, in 15 minutes at the start of trading. In New York, the NASDAQ, Dow Jones and S&P 500 were all down.

Auto manufacturers saw their shares drop. GM shares were down almost five per cent by 9:45 a.m., while Stellantis was off by 5.5 per cent and Ford was off by 2.3 per cent.

10:20 a.m. (updated) Justin Trudeau expected to deliver Canada’s response in wake of the tariffs. The press conference has been delayed. 

Rhonda and Will Herdman picked up a container of dates at a downtown Loblaws Tuesday morning before putting them back on the shelf when they saw “Product of USA” on the label.

“You have to look at the package so carefully,” Rhonda said, adding they’ve been trying to buy Canadian as much as possible since U.S. President Donald Trump first floated the idea of tariffs at the beginning of February.

Finding products made, or at least packaged, in Canada hasn’t been as difficult as the couple had expected.

Now that the tariffs are here, they are feeling a bit anxious about whats going to happen next, but they are willing to spend more if it means not giving “a single dollar” to the States.

“It feels like having a friend stab you in the back,” Will said.

Will added that he thinks the federal government should look for new trading partners due to the unpredictability of Trump.

“The guy is screwing over Canadians. And he’s screwing over Americans.” – Nathan Bawaan

Months of hot air and bravado have finally come to fruition: Canada is in a trade war.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on Canada, imposed Tuesday, have sent buy-Canadian intentions skyrocketing just as the stock markets and Canadian dollar plunge. Maple leaf signs line grocery store shelves and “proudly Canadian” advertisements fill the airways.

But navigating this new world can be daunting — and it’s not made any easier by how intertwined Canada’s supply chain is with the U.S.

9:55 a.m. Quebec also removing U.S. products from liquor stores.

9:52 a.m. On CNN, Premier Doug Ford warned auto plants will “shut down within 10 days” on both sides of the border.

“Unfortunately, the president has gone sideways,” Ford said. “The president needs to be stopped.”

“They’re absolutely livid,” he told CNN when asked about the state of Canadians. “We’ve stood shoulder-to-shoulder in wars.”

On retaliation, Ford said “I won’t hesitate to use every tool in our tool box.”

Whether that includes shutting off the supply of electricity Ontario sells to several border states remains to be seen.

9:52 a.m. Canada’s main stock index fell more than 300 points at the open as the U.S. imposed broad tariffs on goods coming from Canada and Mexico.

The S&P/TSX composite was down 326.69 points at 24,674.88.

9:50 a.m. Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday morning.

“Canada doesn’t allow American Banks to do business in Canada, but their banks flood the American Market. Oh, that seems fair to me, doesn’t it?”

9:46 a.m. Premier Doug Ford has ordered the LCBO, one of the world’s largest purchasers of Kentucky bourbon and California wine, to remove American products from shelves this morning. That’s his initial response to Trump’s tariffs.

9:45 a.m. The Canadian government is opening new drug testing lab spaces in Toronto and Vancouver with a full-time team at Health Canada focused on combatting illegal precursor chemicals and drug production, fulfilling another part of Canada’s $1.3 billion border plan announced following Donald Trump’s election.

Health Canada says the expanded lab could analyze up to 2,000 illegal drug samples per year, and will work with law enforcement to trace the place and source of production of the samples.

“Tariffs are an economic weapon—and Trump just pointed it at Ontario workers. We need to fight like hell. To protect jobs. To protect industries. To make sure our economy is built to withstand this and whatever comes next. A tariff-proof economy isn’t a slogan. It’s an economic imperative. For Ontario. For Canada. For all of us.”

9:25 a.m. The premier of Nova Scotia posted on X on Tuesday morning calling Donald Trump a short-sighted man who wields his power just for the sake of it.

“It is impossible to properly describe the uncertainty and chaos that President Trump’s threat of tariffs and now actually imposing tariffs has caused for Canadians. And now, as President Trump proceeds with his illegal 25 per cent tariffs, Nova Scotia will respond,” he said on X. 

As U.S. President Donald Trump‘s 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican products (alongside 10 per cent duties on energy products) set in, Canada could be pushed into a recession and lose hundreds of thousands of jobs, some economists warn.

In return, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau enacted retaliatory tariffs on American goods as the U.S. tariffs kicked in.

8:41 a.m. Doug Ford will be speaking on tariffs at 11:30 a.m. 

8:32 a.m. Some economists are now forecasting the Bank of Canada to cut its key rate on March 12 as tariffs risk pushing Canada into a “moderate recession,” said Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO, in a note to clients Tuesday morning.

“The Bank of Canada will now have its finger on the easing trigger on March 12, despite its earlier reservations about responding hastily,” said Guatieri. – Ana Pereira 

China responded to new U.S. tariffs by announcing Tuesday it will impose additional tariffs of up to 15 per cent on imports of key U.S. farm products, including chicken, pork, soy and beef, and expanded controls on doing business with key U.S. companies.

The tariffs announced by the Commerce Ministry will take effect from March 10, though goods already in transit will be exempt until April 12. They follow U.S. President Donald Trump’s order to raise tariffs on imports of Chinese products to 20% across the board. Those took effect on Tuesday, along with 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico.

8:25 a.m. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to speak around 10:30 a.m. this morning. 

He will be joined by the Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs, Dominic LeBlanc, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, and the Minister of Public Safety, David J. McGuinty. 

Check back for a livesteam and updates. 

The federal union that represents Canada’s front-line customs and immigration officers says it’s worried about staffing levels at the Canada Border Services Agency as the country responds to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.

Trump’s executive order to implement 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian products, with a lower 10 per cent levy on energy, are set to kick in Tuesday.

Despite Canada’s efforts to meet Trump’s demands to boost border security and launch a weeks-long diplomatic push by Canadian officials in Washington, Trump said Monday that the tariffs will take effect as planned.

“As the U.S. imposes tariffs, hardworking Torontonians are worried. People are concerned about their jobs and cost of food. Toronto stands united in a Team Canada approach to respond to this senseless trade action. We will get through this together,” Chow said. 

Trump’s announcement dashed hopes on Wall Street that he would choose a less painful path for global trade, and it followed the latest warning signal on the U.S. economy’s strength. Monday’s loss shaved the S&P 500’s gain since Election Day down to just over 1 per cent from a peak of more than 6 per cent. That rally had been built largely on hopes for policies from Trump that would strengthen the U.S. economy and businesses.

Trump on Monday directed a “pause” to U.S. assistance to Ukraine as he seeks to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to engage in negotiations to end the war with Russia.

President Donald Trump’s long-threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico finally went into effect Tuesday, putting global markets on edge and setting up costly retaliations by the United States’ North American allies.

Starting just past midnight, imports from Canada and Mexico are now to be taxed at 25%, with Canadian energy products getting tariffed at 10%. In addition, the 10% tariff that Trump placed on Chinese imports in February is doubling to 20%.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Canada will respond with 25 per cent tariffs on $155 billion worth of American goods over 21 days.

Trudeau is set to hold a press conference Tuesday morning along with Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Public Safety Minister David McGuinty.

The Canada and Mexico tariffs were originally supposed to begin in February, but Trump agreed to a 30-day suspension to negotiate further with the two largest U.S. trading partners.

Ongoing tariff threats and mixed signals.

Despite weeks of lobbying in Washington by Canadian cabinet ministers and heads of the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency, Ottawa had no formal word early Monday afternoon about what would happen.

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was en route from London back to Canada, two federal cabinet ministers said the federal government would levy counter-tariffs as promised if Trump follows through his generalized 25 per cent tariff threat against Canada and Mexico tonight.

When U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports this week, it wasn’t just a shot at Canada. He also managed to side-swipe one of his most vocal allies in the steel industry.

In November, American steel giant Cleveland Cliffs swallowed up Stelco, the pride of Hamilton and Canada’s second largest steel company, for $3.4 billion.

“People are feeling three things. I think it’s fear, I think it’s anger, and I think it’s uncertainty,” said Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter, whose city has been reeling at the thought of the U.S. president’s threats to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all imports, along with further tariffs on aluminum, steel and the auto industry itself.

Tuesday, in a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump mentioned a specific 25 per cent tariff on automotive imports, but it was unclear whether he was suggesting that would go on top of the already-threatened aluminum, steel and across-the-board tariffs.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said tariffs would be levied Tuesday against Canada and Mexico, but the levels remained to be seen.

Mike Myers shared his stance on U.S. President Donald Trump’s quips of making Canada the 51st state during an appearance on “Saturday Night Live” last night.

The comedian, who grew up in Scarborough, sported a black T-shirt adorned with a Canada flag and large white lettering reading “Canada is not for sale” during the closing scene, standing alongside the episode’s host Shane Gillis and Canadian singer-songwriter Tate McRae, who was the episode’s musical guest.

The comedian’s outfit choice follows the repeated comments from Trump about turning Canada into the 51st state while threatening to slap tariffs on Canada.

A string of tariff threats and annexation taunts from U.S. President Donald Trump isn’t getting in the way of Canadians’ love of free samples, bulk goods and $1.50 hot dogs.

Costco, the popular, membership-only, American-owned big-box retailer founded and headquartered in Washington state, seems to have emerged as an exception to many peoples’ rule to avoid American products and companies.

The call for Canadians to boycott U.S. businesses and products and to “buy Canadian” instead comes in response to Trump’s punitive trade policies and “51st state” comments that are souring the historically friendly relationship between Canada and its southern neighbour. A recent Interac survey found that eight in 10 Canadians believe supporting local businesses is important to them amid the evolving threats.

Business experts, labour leaders, industry professionals and city officials overseeing Toronto’s economic health are leading the charge in Mayor Olivia Chow’s newly-recruited brigade to combat U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs looming over Canada.

On the day of the snap provincial election triggered by the premier seeking a new mandate to deal with Trump, the 13 members of the mayor’s Economic Action Team gathered at city hall for their first meeting to come up with a game plan aimed at protecting the sectors of Toronto’s economy and jobs most at risk by the ongoing trade war.

“Hardworking Torontonians are wondering if their livelihood is going to be at stake,” Chow said. “We are stronger together. We will never give up. And we will provide a plan shortly.”

Canadian grocery giant Loblaw is ready to speed up the way it handles price increases, to make it easier for suppliers to recoup tariff costs in the event a trade war with the U.S. breaks out next week, according to a letter obtained by the Star.

Normally when a supplier wants to increase their prices, Loblaw requires 12 weeks to evaluate the request.

American President Donald Trump raised a long list of complaints against Canada and said the Canada-U.S. boundary could disappear when he spoke with the prime minister Monday, according to details Justin Trudeau revealed behind closed doors on Friday, the Star has learned.

The Star first broke news that Trudeau told a group of nearly 200 business, industry and union leaders that Trump’s statements about annexing Canada are not a joke, and are driven in part by his desire to benefit from Canada’s critical minerals.

But there was much more to Trudeau’s revelations about his high-stakes call with the U.S. president hours before punishing tariffs were set to take effect — including that Trump suggested breaking a 1908 boundary treaty, was dismissive of Canada’s contributions to NORAD, and rhymed off a litany of irritants that the White House has with Canada, according to five sources who were in the room.