Justin Trudeau to speak about Canada’s response to Trump tariffs

Canada’s prime minister is set to respond to Donald Trump’s tariffs on Tuesday morning.

The U.S. president’s long-promised tariffs took effect at midnight, adding a 25 per cent levy on imports to the United States from Canada and Mexico, with a lower 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has promised to retaliate with equal tariffs on American goods entering Canada, is set to speak about Canada’s response at 9:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

980 CJME will carry the prime minister’s remarks live. Click here to listen.

Trudeau called the tariffs “unjustified” in a statement issued on Monday night. Canada’s response is expected to begin with tariffs on $30 billion worth of American goods, with even more counter tariffs expected to hit before the end of the month.

“Our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. trade action is withdrawn, and should U.S. tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures,” Trudeau said in the statement.

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“While we urge the U.S. administration to reconsider their tariffs, Canada remains firm in standing up for our economy, our jobs, our workers, and for a fair deal.”

Trudeau will be joined at the news conference by Finance Minister Dominic LeBLanc, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and other members of his cabinet.

The tariffs come despite the best efforts of Trudeau, Joly and provincial leaders including Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who all argued strongly against the measures. Moe spent much of last week in Washington, D.C., leading a delegation of business leaders to the American capital in order to tout the value of the existing cross-border trade relationship.

The Saskatchewan premier has also taken steps to address the border concerns that Trump has cited as a reason for the tariffs, unveiling a provincial border plan and stronger measures aimed to control the trafficking of the deadly drug fentanyl.

“No one wins with the imposition of tariffs,” Moe told reporters in Saskatoon on Friday.

“The very first impacts will be observed by an American family that’s filling up their vehicle at the pumps,” he said.

Moe said Americans will also feel the impact at grocery stores, while U.S. farmers will see a big jump in the cost of potash fertilizer.

“Ninety per cent of potash that is used by American farmers comes from the province of Saskatchewan,” the premier said.

Moe also noted that Saskatchewan-mined uranium powers one in 17 homes across the United States.

At a news conference on Monday, Moe said the province is considering its own response.

“We remain committed to free and fair trade between Canada and the U.S., but should the U.S. proceed with an ill-conceived tariffs policy, we will have no choice but to defend Saskatchewan industries and families,” the premier said.

Even before the tariffs were imposed, the threats from Trump sparked a wave of patriotic sentiment in Canada, with many shoppers choosing to buy or switch to Canadian-made products, and some sports fans even booing the American anthem at events.

–with files from The Canadian Press