Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pulled no punches in his response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war. Trump’s reasoning, Trudeau said, was to bring about the “total collapse of the Canadian economy” in a bid to annex the country.

Canada has already launched its counter tariffs. The plan, Trudeau said, was to maximize the impact on America while causing as little pain for Canadians as possible. Trump, in response, threatened to further escalate matters, saying that “our reciprocal tariff will immediately increase by a like amount.”

The risk of escalation is real. As is the risk of a damaging recession in Canada and soaring prices for a range of goods on either side of the border. The auto industry, which will likely be hit harder than most, has made clear that tariffs will likely bring production grinding to a halt within days and could cause permanent and significant damage to the sector.

Yet there is only so much the Liberal government can do without recalling Parliament, which is scheduled to resume on March 24. By that point, Canada will have a new prime minister and a federal election will loom larger still.

There’s a lot of uncertainty. To try and make sense of what’s going on and what happens next, The Logic’s editor-in-chief David Skok, economics columnist Kevin Carmichael, trade reporter Joanna Smith and automotive and critical minerals reporter Anita Balakrishnan sat down to explore what these developments mean for Canadian businesses and the economy.

Watch the full recording.

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