'We will not back down': Trudeau announces steep Canadian tariffs to retaliate against Trump

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OTTAWA — Canada marched into a trade war against its greatest ally on Saturday, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing 25-per-cent retaliatory tariffs against $155-billion worth of American goods, precisely matching President Donald Trump’s move to tax Canadian imports.

“We’re certainly not looking to escalate, but we will stand up for Canada, Canadians and Canadian jobs,” Trudeau said at a 9:30 p.m. ET press conference. “We didn’t ask for this, but we will not back down.”

Hours earlier, Trump signed an emergency order imposing a 25-per-cent tariff on most Canadian imports and a 10-per-cent levy on Canadian energy, taking effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Feb. 4.

Trudeau, who was notified of the tariffs earlier Saturday, met with his cabinet and premiers in the afternoon ahead of the U.S.’s official public announcement. He also spoke with Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum in the evening.

Trudeau said the Canadian response will include immediate tariffs on $30-billion worth of goods on Tuesday, followed by tariffs on $125-billion worth of American products in 21 days to give Canadian companies time to find alternatives.

Trudeau said retaliatory tariffs will include everyday items such as American beer, wine and bourbon, fruits and fruit juices such as orange juice, as well as vegetables, perfume, clothing and shoes, household appliances, furniture and sports equipment.

He said the federal government is also considering with the provinces and territories several non-tariff measures, including some relating to critical minerals, energy, procurement and other partnerships.

Speaking to Americans, Trudeau hammered home the idea that Canada and the U.S. had been allies for decades, whether it was on the beaches of Normandy in World War Two, in providing refuge to stranded passengers after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, or mere weeks ago when Canada sent water bombers to tackle the wildfires in California.

“Together we’ve built the most successful economic, military and security partnership the world has ever seen, a relationship that has been the envy of the world,” he said. “Unfortunately, the actions taken today by the White House split us apart instead of bringing us together.”

Turning his attention to Canadians, Trudeau said he knows many of them are anxious and perplexed as to why their closest friend and neighbour is targeting them.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of Americans who wake up in the morning saying, ‘Oh, damn Canada. Oh, we should really go after Canada.’”

When asked whether he had spoken to Trump, Trudeau said he hasn’t since his inauguration on Jan. 20.

“I look forward to speaking with President Trump in the coming days and weeks,” he said. “We’ve solved big issues before, and we will solve them again.”

Quebec Premier Fran?ois Legault said that all premiers supported the federal government’s decision to impose tariffs on certain U.S. imports.

In the U.S. announcement on Saturday, Trump said he was also imposing general tariffs of 25 per cent on Mexico and adding 10 per cent to tariffs already imposed on China. They, along with Canada, are the largest trading partners of the U.S.

In a series of posts on X, the White House said Trump is implementing the tariffs “until Canada cooperates with the U.S. against drug traffickers and on border security.” It cited the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.?

Canadian officials say less than one per cent of the fentanyl entering the U.S. comes from Canada, the same figure applies to migrants.

“Today’s tariff announcement is necessary to hold China, Mexico, and Canada accountable for their promises to halt the flood of poisonous drugs into the United States,” the White House said. “Additionally, illegal border crossings from Canada reached historic new highs every year for the last four fiscal years.”

Trump wrote on social media that he was implementing the tariffs through the International Emergency and Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) “because of the major threat of illegal aliens and deadly drugs killing our citizens, including fentanyl.”

The reaction to the tariffs was immediate from Canadian politicians and regular citizens alike.

Ahead of a hockey game between the Ottawa Senators and the Minnesota Wild in Ottawa on Saturday night, multiple videos on social media showed Senators fans loudly booing the U.S. national anthem.

Doug Ford, who is campaigning for re-election as Ontario’s premier, appeared on CNN to call Trump’s tariffs “illegal,” saying they violate the free trade agreement Canada signed with the U.S. and Mexico.

“It’s disappointing. Canada and Canadians love the U.S. I love the U.S. I love the American people. We’re your closest ally and trading partner, your largest export destination in the entire world,” Ford said.

“This is going to hurt Americans. It’s going to hurt Canadians. We’re going to see inflation happen down in the U.S. and in Canada and it’s unjustified.”

Ford had previously said he would order Ontario’s liquor board to remove U.S. alcohol from its shelves should the U.S. move ahead with tariffs. On Saturday, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston announced he would be doing the same effective Tuesday, and also planned to limit access to provincial procurement opportunities for U.S. companies and seek to cancel existing contracts.

B.C. Premier David Eby announced he ordered the province’s liquor stores to immediately stop stocking alcohol from “red states” that support Trump’s Republicans and asked government departments and agencies to buy Canadian first.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith also expressed disappointment in Trump’s decision, but claimed a minor victory over the fact the levy on Canadian energy was only 10 per cent, not 25 per cent.

“We note the reduced 10 per cent tariff for Canadian energy which is partially a recognition of the advocacy undertaken by our Government and industry to the U.S. Administration pointing out the substantial wealth created in the U.S. by American companies and tens of thousands of American workers that upgrade and refine approximately $100 billion of Canadian crude into $300 billion of product sold all over the world by those same U.S. companies,” Smith said.?

Opposition Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also condemned Trump’s action as “unjust.” In a statement on social media Saturday, he said Trudeau must respond with “dollar-for-dollar tariffs carefully aimed at maximizing impact on American companies while minimizing impact on Canadian consumers.”

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called on Canadians to come together in the face of what he called “Donald Trump’s economic attack.”

Trade Minister Mary Ng posted on social media Saturday, saying “our message is clear: while we value our partnership with the United States, Canada is ready to respond firmly to any U.S. tariffs.”

Trump has been threatening to impose 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports since shortly after his re-election in November.

Canadian officials have consistently said Canada is responsible for less than one per cent of the fentanyl and migrants flowing into the U.S., but they have sought to reassure the Trump administration that the border is secure, dispatching new patrol helicopters this week and announcing a six-year, $1.3-billion border security plan.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, Immigration Minister Marc Miller and Public Safety Minister David McGuinty were the latest cabinet ministers who travelled to Washington this past week to sell the new border plan to Trump officials and Republican lawmakers.

Trump told reporters on the day of his inauguration last month that 25 per cent tariffs would be imposed on Canada and Mexico starting Feb. 1. Speaking from the Oval Office on Friday, the president confirmed that remained the case, saying he was not looking for a concession from Canada.

“You see the power of the tariff,“ Trump told reporters Friday. ”Nobody can compete with us because we have by far the biggest piggy bank.”

The president travelled to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida Friday night and went to a golf course in West Palm Beach Saturday morning.

The tariffs will have immediate and direct consequences on Canadian and American livelihoods, said Canadian Chamber of Commerce President Candace Laing.

“This decision makes no sense when the majority of Americans oppose tariffs, when it harms businesses and workers on both sides of the border, and when the U.S. stock market is signalling that there’s no appetite for disruption,” Laing said in a statement Saturday.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business said the tariffs are “deeply disappointing and will hit small businesses hard on both sides of the border.”

The CFIB said in a statement that just over half of Canada’s small businesses are involved in importing or exporting directly to the United States.

“President Trump’s profoundly disturbing decision to impose tariffs will have immediate and direct consequences on Canadian and American livelihoods,” Canadian Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Candace Lang said in a statement.

“Right now, job number one for Canada is providing security to the Canadian families, communities and businesses that are rightly scared by the consequences of President Trump’s self-defeating measures.”

Tim McMillan, a former head of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, warned that Ottawa should avoid the temptation to retaliate by cutting off oil supplies from Alberta, which make up half of U.S. oil imports, saying it “would be a huge mistake.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also issued a statement to oppose its country’s tariffs.

“The President is right to focus on major problems like our broken border and the scourge of fentanyl, but the imposition of tariffs under IEEPA is unprecedented, won’t solve these problems, and will only raise prices for American families and upend supply chains,” said John Murphy, the chamber’s senior vice president.

Murphy said the chamber will be consulting with its members across the country to determine next steps “to prevent economic harm to Americans.”

National Post, with files from Catherine Levesque, The Canadian Press and Bloomberg

staylor@postmedia.com

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