Trump plans to impose 25% tariffs on Canada as of February 1 | Donald Trump, President of the United States

Mr. Trump, who had indicated that he would carry out his threats on the day of his inauguration, Monday, finally indicated that the customs tariffs would be imposed in around ten days, accusing the two neighboring countries of the United States of not do enough against drug trafficking and illegal migration.

At a press briefing on the sidelines of a meeting of the Liberal cabinet in Montebello, in Outaouais, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, and the Minister of Finance, Dominic LeBlanc, maintained that Justin Trudeau’s government was ready for any eventuality.

We’ve spent the last few weeks working on a plan […] We are ready to respond to any scenario.

Mr. LeBlanc and Ms. Joly both made it clear that efforts were still underway to convince the Trump administration to abandon its tariff threats.

This is an important moment for Canada, insisted Ms. Joly. We must continue to defend the interests of Canadians, to defend our jobs, and we ask all the country’s political leaders to stand up and be united because, more than ever, we must highlight and prioritize our country .

The two officials also wanted to recall that it was in the interest of Canadians to protect the borders with the United States, as demanded by Mr. Trump, recalling that the government presented a plan worth 1, $3 billion to strengthen border security (new window).

Ottawa will wait

The Prime Minister, for his part, is due to hold a press briefing on Tuesday morning and is expected to react to Mr. Trump’s comments.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Trudeau kept a low profile, avoiding questions from journalists. On X, however, he congratulated Mr. Trump on his official inauguration, while emphasizing that Canada and the United States have the most successful economic partnership in the world. We have the chance to work together again – to create more jobs and prosperity in our two countrieshe wrote again.

A source well informed about the federal government’s plans told - that Ottawa does not intend to implement the customs counter-tariff plan before the American administration carries out its threats. The Trudeau government still hopes that Mr. Trump will change his mind by February 1, especially since several federal ministers have increased their visits to Washington in recent days.

Minister Joly intends to contact the new US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, with the aim of planning a visit to the US capital in the coming days. Minister LeBlanc, who has already announced his intention to go to Washington next week, is in contact with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, again according to our source.

Earlier Monday, two highly placed sources told - that the Trump administration was positioning itself in anticipation of the review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), scheduled for 2026.

One of the sticking points that arose before the adoption of this agreement, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 2020, was the issue of supply management. Washington denounces this practice, mainly with regard to dairy products.

Among the retaliatory measures considered by the Trudeau government is a list of 10 American products which would be subject to immediate counter-tariffs, again according to our sources. This list would notably include orange juice from Florida, bourbon from Kentucky as well as household appliances such as washing machines.

On Friday, the government said that a first phase of customs counter-tariffs would amount to $37 billion (new window). A planned second phase would amount to $110 billion.

Retaliatory measures affecting the energy sector are on the tablebut these would be measures of last resort, again according to our sources.

Trump praises tariffs

During his inauguration speech, the American president affirmed that one of his priorities would be the overhaul of the United States trading system.

Rather than taxing citizens to enrich other countries, we will impose tariffs and taxes on foreign countries so that we can enrich our own citizens.

He also said his administration would set up a body called External Revenue Service (External Revenue Servicein English) which will aim toaccumulate all this money which will end up in our public treasury with foreign sources.

Later in the day, before signing other executive orders, President Trump said that the word tariff is the most beautiful in the dictionary [après] the words God, religion and love.

Customs tariffs will make our country richer than ever.

Last Wednesday, Mr. Trudeau met with the 13 provincial and territorial premiers (new window) to discuss possible retaliatory measures. Following the meeting, 12 provincial and territorial premiers and the Prime Minister issued a joint statement committing to presenting a united front in the face of tariff threats.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, however, refused to sign the declaration (new window)saying she is opposed to the idea of ​​cutting off energy supplies to the United States and imposing tariffs on Alberta energy and other products destined for the United States.

The provinces react

On Monday on X, Ms. Smith called on the federal government to rely on diplomacy rather than talking about counter-tariffs, including energy.

A position that the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, does not support at all, who, for his part, has been discussing for several weeks the idea of ​​cutting electricity exports to the United States if Mr. Trump decides to move forward with tariffs on Canadian imports. According to Mr. Ford, nearly 500,000 jobs would be at risk in Ontario if the United States follows through on its threats (new window).

If necessary, he said Monday that he had asked the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) to remove all American products from its shelves. (new window).

In Quebec, Prime Minister François Legault says he is studying possible retaliatory measures sector by sector, product by product.

There are sectors in which our products are difficult to replace.

He also compared the US tariff crisis to that of the pandemic. When citizens and businesses get hit, it’s the government’s role to help them. This is how we will look at the situation.

With information from Fannie Olivier and Louis Blouin