On the morning following the U.S. Government’s implementation of 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has hit back, promising retaliation on what he bluntly called a “dumb thing to do.”
In a press announcement held this morning, Trudeau said that Canada has been working to avert the tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened, and once postponed, to impose on the country. However, as the U.S. Government implemented the tariffs early this morning, Trudeau said the country was ready.
“The U.S. tariffs came into effect in the early hours of this morning, and so did the Canadian response,” he said.
“Canada will be implementing 25 percent tariffs against $155 billion worth of American goods, starting with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion of American products in 21 days time.”
Trudeau also announced that the Canadian Government will be challenging the U.S. tariffs by filing dispute resolution claims at the World Trade Organization, as well as through the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Trudeau said Canada’s tariffs will remain in place as long as the U.S. tariffs are in place, and that the government is in discussion with provinces and territories to pursue “non-tariff” measures that he said will demonstrate “there are no winners in a trade war.”
The prime minister pushed back against the U.S. Government’s claim that fentanyl crossing into the United States was the driving force behind implementing tariffs, noting that the government stepped up its own security measures and has seen results. According to Trudeau, new data has showed that there has been a 97 per cent drop in fentanyl seizures at the U.S./Canada border from December 2024 to January 2025.
Trudeau stressed once again that the government’s fight is not with the everyday U.S. citizen, instead pointing the finger at President Trump and his administration directly.
“We signed a historic deal that has created record jobs and growth in both of our countries,” Trudeau said, speaking directly to the U.S. President.
“We’ve done big things together on the world stage, as Canada and the U.S. have done together for decades, for generations, and now we should be working together to ensure even greater prosperity for North Americans in a very uncertain and challenging world. 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.”
However, Trudeau also acknowledged that, as much as tariffs will hurt the U.S. citizen first and foremost, there are difficult times ahead for Canadians as well, as the economy is set to be significantly impacted by the U.S. tariffs.
“To my fellow Canadians, I won’t sugarcoat it,” he said.
“This is going to be tough, even though we’re all going to pull together, because that’s what we do. We will use every tool at our disposal so Canadian workers and businesses can weather this storm, from expanding E.I. benefits and making them more flexible, to providing direct supports to businesses, we will be there as needed to help, but Canada, make no mistake, no matter how long this lasts, no matter what the cost, the federal government and other orders of government will be there for you. We will defend Canadian jobs. We will take measures to prevent predatory behaviour that threatens Canadian companies because of the impacts of this trade war, leaving them open to takeovers. We will relentlessly fight to protect our economy. We will stand up for Canadians every single second of every single day, because this country is worth fighting for.”
In a regional response to the tariffs, Ontario premier Doug Ford announced the province would remove U.S. products from the LCBO across the province, as well as from its retail catalogue, in retaliation. Ford also said the province would be ripping up a $100-million Starlink contract.
For more on Canada and Ontario’s response to the tariffs, see tomorrow’s issue of the Fort Frances Times.
