Canada has hit the U.S. with retaliatory tariffs in response to the Trump administration implementing 25 per cent access-the-board tariffs on Canadian trade Tuesday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that “Canada will not let this unjustified decision go unanswered.”
He said the government will “respond with 25 per cent tariffs against $155 billion of American goods – starting with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately, and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion on American products in 21 days’ time.”
“Our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. trade action is withdrawn, and should U.S. tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures,” reads a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office released Monday.
Trump’s punitive tariffs were said to be in response to Canada’s poor border security and the flow of fentanyl coming into the U.S. from the north.
The Trudeau government responded in recent months to these concerns by implementing a “$1.3 billion border plan with new choppers, boots on the ground, more coordination, and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl.”
Despite Canada only being responsible for about one per cent of U.S. fentanyl importations, the new measures reduced the flow of fentanyl seizures from Canada by 97 per cent between December 2024 and January 2025.
This brought Canadian importation of fentanyl to “a near-zero low of 0.03 pounds” seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Additionally, the federal government appointed a “Fentanyl Czar, listed transnational criminal cartels as terrorist organizations” and launched a Joint Operational Intelligence Cell.
Canada is also currently in the process of creating a Joint Strike Force on organized crime with the U.S.
“Because of the tariffs imposed by the U.S., Americans will pay more for groceries, gas, and cars, and potentially lose thousands of jobs,” reads the PMO’s statement.
“Tariffs will disrupt an incredibly successful trading relationship. They will violate the very trade agreement that was negotiated by President Trump in his last term.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a post to X Monday that he “called for the government to immediately take actions before tariffs hit to make Canada less dependent on the U.S.” a month ago.
“Liberals have done exactly nothing since then. And now, the tariffs hit—and they’ve left us helpless,” wrote Poilievre.
Hours before the United States’ tariffs against Canada went into effect, Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his threat to cut off electricity flowing from the province into several U.S. states.
“If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do anything — including cutting off their energy — with a smile on my face,” the newly re-elected premier told reporters.
The province supplies electricity to New York, Michigan and Minnesota.
“They need to feel the pain. They want to come at us? We’ve got to go back twice as hard,” said Ford.
Ford went on to say that he’s directed the LCBO to “remove every bit of U.S. alcohol off the shelves,” which will amount to a net loss of $1 billion worth of 3,600 products purchased from 35 states.
“We’re gonna cancel Starlink right away from Elon Musk,” said Ford. “Not that $100 million dollars makes a difference for him, but it’s principle,” he said.