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Canada retaliates with its own tariffs as US tariffs roll in

A protester holds the flags of Canada and The United States outside Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Saturday, Feb 1st, 2025
Justin Tang
/
The Canadian Press via Associated Press
A protester holds the flags of Canada and The United States outside Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Saturday, Feb 1st, 2025

This past weekend, as promised, President Donald Trump unleashed devastating tariffs against Canada and Mexico. China too was hit, but not as hard.

The tariffs will come into effect on Tuesday.

Canada is retaliating with tariffs of its own against US products. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada has no choice.

“I am announcing Canada will be responding to the US trade action with 25 percent tariffs against 155 billion dollars worth of American goods. This will include immediate tariffs on 30 billion dollars worth of goods as of Tuesday followed by further tariffs on 125 billion dollars worth of American products in 21 days to allow Canadian companies and supply chains to seek to find alternatives,” Trudeau said.

Trudeau says Ottawa’s tariffs will be far-reaching and include everyday items.

“Such as American beer, wine, and bourbon. Fruits and fruit juices, including orange juice along with vegetables, perfume, clothing, and shoes. It’ll include major consumer products like household appliances, furniture, and sports equipment and materials like lumber, plastics along with much, much more,” Trudeau said.

During his news conference, Trudeau talked directly to Americans reminding them of a shared history, that included two world wars, the Korean War, Afghanistan, the embassy crisis in Iran, and 9/11, where Canadians and Americans died and grieved together and most recently sending water bombers to fight the fires in California.

To Canadians, Trudeau said we are all in this together, provincial premiers, businesses, organized labor, and tens of millions of people from coast to coast, all united.

Analysts have said, all along, that the tariffs will hurt both countries. One sector will be the automobile industry. Brian Kingston is the president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association; he says there will be an impact on American consumers.

“Across North America, we could be facing production shutdowns in the automotive industry, not just in Canada and Mexico, but in the United States given how integrated this sector is. We could see job losses as a result of that. And Americans will see higher prices for vehicles,” Kingston said.

Kingston says there will be an immediate and serious impact on the industry and it’s not just the federal government that is taking action. Provinces are bringing in their own measures. Including David Eby, the premier of British Columbia.

“I have directed BC liquor sales to immediately stop buying American liquor from red states. Liquor store employees will be removing the most popular of these brands from government store shelves. I have directed the government and our crown corporations to immediately stop buying American goods and services and buy Canadian,” Eby said.

At least five other provinces are also taking similar measures, including Ontario. It’s Premier Doug Ford is in the middle of an election campaign and has this message for Donald Trump.

“He thinks he can break Canada. He thinks he can buy Canada. He doesn’t know what we know. The Canadian spirit can never be broken and friends, Canada is not for sale,” Ford said.

Canadian agriculture and grocery chains will also be hit hard by the Trump tariffs. Organized labor groups are also fielding calls from their members, worrying about their jobs. Lana Payne is the president of Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, she says Trump has basically declared economic war on Canada with his tariffs.

“We have to take a stand. I believe today, for us as Canadians everything has changed forever. We’re going to have to be more creative than we’ve ever been. We need Canadians to come together in a large way for the fight that we are going to have ahead,” Payne said.

Trump has said that if Canada retaliates, he will increase tariffs even more, but he won’t say how much.

On the streets, in the bars, and in the coffee shops the main topic is the tariffs. Talk shows have been flooded with callers offering their opinions, their fears, and their anger, but the overwhelming consensus is to fight back. There are other long-term considerations, Derek Burney is a former Canadian ambassador to the US, and had this to say about the Trump administration.

“You have to be worried about any possibility from this President, unfortunately. I mean who would ever trust any agreement with this administration given what they’ve done to their neighbor and ally, and closest friend, Canada? It’s ridiculous,” Burney said.