Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has doubled down, declaring Canada will stand firm in a trade showdown with the United States after President Donald Trump unleashed steep tariffs on Canadian imports overnight.
“Today, the U.S. kicked off a trade war against Canada—its nearest ally, its truest friend,” Trudeau said Tuesday from Parliament Hill. “While they cozy up to Russia and appease Vladimir Putin—a deceitful, blood-stained dictator—I’m left wondering how that adds up.”
“Canadians are fair-minded and courteous, but we won’t shy away from a scrap—not when our nation and every person in it hangs in the balance,” he emphasized.
Trump’s tariffs—25% on all Canadian and Mexican goods, with a 10% hit on Canadian energy—snapped into place at midnight after a 30-day grace period lapsed.
Trudeau then singled out Trump directly, flanked by Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, and Public Safety Minister David McGuinty. “Donald, over eight years, we’ve teamed up for some major wins,” he said, nodding to landmark trade pacts. “You’re sharp, no doubt—but sparking this trade fight? That’s a boneheaded move.”
Canada’s counterpunch, first outlined last month and reaffirmed Tuesday, rolls out in two waves: tariffs on $30 billion in U.S. goods right away, followed by $125 billion more after a 21-day public feedback window. Per the finance department, the 25% levies will tag everything from American food and drinks to toilet paper, motorcycles, clothes, shoes, cosmetics, furniture, appliances, lumber, and tobacco.
To head off Trump’s tariff threat, Trudeau had rolled out a $1.3-billion border security package last month—complete with a fentanyl czar, extra staff, drones, cameras, and choppers. That effort, cemented in a last-gasp deal with Trump, bought the 30-day delay, he said.
Trump’s tariff push, touted since November, hinges on curbing drugs and migrants at the border. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick dubbed it an “opioid strategy” on CNBC Tuesday, while telling CNN Monday, “The border was a sieve—we need our partners to seal it.” He conceded Canada and Mexico have tightened up lately but claimed it’s not enough to dent U.S. fentanyl deaths.
“There’s zero reason for these tariffs,” Trudeau shot back. “Your excuse—that Canada’s soft on fentanyl—is nonsense.”
Trump Sees Progress, Wants More
Trump insists drugs still flood in from Canada, yet U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data tells a different tale: fentanyl busts at the border plummeted 97% from December 2024 to January 2025, and illegal crossings dropped over 80% from June to November last year. The RCMP chipped in too, nabbing 46 kg of fentanyl and over 15,000 pills in a six-week crackdown ending mid-January.
Canadian officials have long noted that less than 1% of U.S.-bound fentanyl comes via Canada. Trump conceded the point last week but grumbled they “should be catching more.” Vice-President JD Vance, speaking Tuesday in D.C., called fentanyl the tariffs’ “core driver,” dismissing the 1% stat. “Canada’s let plenty slip through—saying Mexico’s worse doesn’t excuse it,” he said.
Premiers Fire Back
Canada’s premiers, fresh off a U.S. charm offensive to dodge the tariffs, jumped into the fray Tuesday. Ontario’s Doug Ford, chair of the premiers’ council, went big on NBC’s Meet the Press Monday, vowing to choke off nickel exports, ditch U.S. contracts, and cut power to New York, Michigan, and Minnesota. The LCBO’s already yanking American booze from shelves.
Nova Scotia’s Tim Houston piled on via social media, barring U.S. firms from provincial bids, hiking tolls for American trucks on the Cobequid Pass, and pulling U.S. liquor. He’s tapping a rainy-day fund to brace Nova Scotians for the economic hit. “We’re hunting for ways to ditch current U.S. deals too,” he wrote.
Trump’s not done—he’s promised 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum by March 12, plus reciprocal duties starting April 2.