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Special Report

Canada hits back at Trump’s trade war with billions in retaliatory tariffs

OTTAWA — Canada will hit the United States with 25 per cent tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods on Tuesday, with more retaliation to come, after President Donald Trump decided to “punish” its greatest trading partner, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday.

Special Report

Canada hits back at Trump’s trade war with billions in retaliatory tariffs

Trudeau announces 25% tariffs on $30B of U.S. goods from Tuesday, with another $125B to follow in 21 days

By Joanna Smith
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, wearing a suit, speaks at a podium with Minister of Public Safety David McGuinty, Global Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and Minister of Governmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc behind him. Four red-and-white Canadian flags are in the background.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses media after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China, in Ottawa, on Feb. 1, 2025. Photo: The Canadian Press/Justin Tang
Feb 1, 2025
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OTTAWA — Canada will hit the United States with 25 per cent tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods on Tuesday, with more retaliation to come, after President Donald Trump decided to “punish” its greatest trading partner, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday.

Talking Points

  • Canada will launch 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs on $30 billion worth of targeted U.S. goods on Tuesday, with another $125 billion worth in 21 days
  • Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre wants the Liberal government to recall Parliament right away to pass legislation in response to the U.S. tariffs, including an emergency tax cut

Canada retaliates: American beer, wine, bourbon, orange juice, peanut butter, perfume, clothing, shoes, household appliances and pulp and paper,  are all on the list for the initial wave of tariffs worth $30 billion, to come Tuesday, according to a news release from the Finance Department. That is the same day  the U.S. will impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods apart from energy, which will have a lower 10 per cent tariff rate.

Canada will expand its response to include another $125 million worth of American products, including passenger vehicles and trucks, including EVs, beef, pork, dairy, some fruits and vegetables, steel and aluminum, aerospace products, RVs and boats, The full list of goods in this second wave will be made available for 21 days before coming into effect. Trudeau told a news conference on Parliament Hill Saturday night that time is meant to “allow Canadian companies and supply chains to seek to find alternatives.”

Asked whether he would recall Parliament, Trudeau said the federal government has all the tools it needs to support Canadians through this time, working with the premiers.

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Non-tariff measures: Trudeau said Ottawa, alongside the provinces and territories, is thinking about including several “non-tariff measures” in the response. They could involve “critical minerals, energy procurement and other partnerships.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has remained steadfastly against any move to restrict energy exports as a negotiating tactic, either through blocking the supply or an export tariff. 

Trudeau did not say unequivocally Saturday night that energy exports would remain off-limits in Canada’s evolving response to the U.S. He did suggest the federal government would not make such a move unilaterally. “Any conversations around further measures, particularly involving one industry, or one region of the country, more than another is something that we’re going to do carefully and thoughtfully, and with the full partnership of regional leaders, provincial premiers [and] businesses,” he said. “No one part of the country should be carrying a heavier burden than any other.”

How the opposition reacted to Trump’s tariffs:

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre demanded that Trudeau reconvene the prorogued Parliament immediately to pass legislation in response to the U.S. tariffs.

In a social media post, Poilievre, whose Conservatives polls suggest are the heavy favourites to win the next election, said his “Canada First Plan” would involve retaliating with “dollar-for-dollar tariffs carefully aimed at maximizing impact on American companies while minimizing impact on Canadian consumers,” including steel and aluminum. “Put all the tariff revenues into help for affected workers and businesses,” he wrote. “[The] government should not keep a dime of the new revenue.”

Poilievre also called for a “massive tax cut” to stimulate the economy, an end to the national price on carbon and capital-gains tax increase, as well as moving to build pipelines and other energy infrastructure projects. He said the plan should also “rebuild our military” and remove barriers to interprovincial trade to make Canada “self-reliant.”

How Alberta reacted:

Smith said on social media she was “disappointed” with Trump’s decision. Still, she viewed the lower 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy products as “partially a recognition” of the work by Alberta’s government and industry to point out to the U.S. administration the “substantial wealth” the energy sector creates below the border. 

According to data from the Canadian Centre for Energy Information, Canada exported nearly four million barrels of crude oil per day to the U.S. in November of 2024—about 95 per cent of the country’s total exports. On the U.S. side, Canada provided just over 56 per cent of total crude oil imports for November.

A recent analysis by TD Economics showed that if energy exports were removed from the equation, the U.S. would have a trade surplus of about US$45 billion.

Smith said Alberta would keep trying to end the tariffs through diplomacy. She said she would also support the federal government and other provinces in a “proportionate response” through strategic countertariffs on U.S. goods that Canada can source within its own borders or from other countries. “Alberta will, however, continue to strenuously oppose any effort to ban exports to the U.S. or to tax our own people and businesses on goods leaving Canada for the United States. Such tactics would hurt Canadians far more than Americans.”

The Calgary Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile, “strongly encourage[d] the federal government to focus on diplomacy and de-escalation and avoid further blows to our economy through retaliation,” which they said should be a “last resort.” 

How the other provinces reacted:

B.C. Premier David Eby said the government body responsible for distributing liquor in the province would stop buying from “red states”—a reference to U.S. states that voted for Trump’s Republican Party—and would stop selling “red state” brands at public liquor stores. The province is adopting a buy-Canadian-first policy for goods and services, and could speed up some $20 billion in private-sector projects in a bid to create jobs, softening the U.S. tariffs’ blow. Eby said the province is considering other measures as well.

Quebec Premier François Legault said the trade war could mean the loss of as many as 100,000 jobs in the province, and vowed to fight back by reviewing and potentially penalizing procurement bids by American companies. He said the province plans to speed up Hydro-Québec’s large-scale projects to create jobs, and is considering fast tracking investments in healthcare, education and transportation to offset the loss of manufacturing jobs. Investissement Québec and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec have been ordered to speed up assistance for Quebec businesses, he said in a press conference. 

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said the province would limit U.S. businesses’ access to government procurement programs, and look for opportunities to cancel contracts with American companies. It will also remove all U.S.-produced alcohol from provincially operated liquor stores, and will double tolls on U.S. commercial vehicles travelling through the Cobequid Pass, a tolled section of the Trans-Canada Highway.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on Sunday morning that the LCBO, the provincial alcohol wholesaler, would stop selling American products at its own retail outlets and to other Ontario retailers and restaurants. In an interview with CNN Saturday night, he said that Ontario would have preferred to be shipping more oil and critical minerals to the U.S., but that Trump underestimated Canada’s response. He distanced Canada from the illegal drug traffic coming from China and Mexico, noting that the U.S. needs to cooperate with Canada stem the flow of guns and drugs coming from the U.S. into this country as well. 

None of the other five provincial premiers announced any specific retaliatory measures or economic supports immediately on Saturday night.

How Mexico reacted:

On Saturday night, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum—on whose country Trump also imposed 25 per cent tariffs Saturday—said she had ordered her minister for the economy to impose retaliatory tariffs on the U.S., as well as some non-tariff measures.

In a social media post, she also floated an offer to establish a U.S.-Mexico working group with public health and security teams to confront the fentanyl problem.

“Problems are not resolved by imposing tariffs, but by talking and conversing,” her post said.

With files from Jesse Snyder in Calgary and Anita Balakrishnan in Toronto

#Donald Trump #Justin Trudeau #Pierre Poilievre #tariffs #trade #U.S.-Canada relations

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, wearing a suit, speaks at a podium with Minister of Public Safety David McGuinty, Global Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and Minister of Governmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc behind him. Four red-and-white Canadian flags are in the background.

Photo: The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

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