Tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods imposed by the U.S. government are expected to take hold Tuesday, marking the start of a North American trade war. Follow the Star’s live updates on Monday.
12:50 p.m. Premier Doug Ford said Ontario would scrap its $100 million satellite internet deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink if tariffs come.
Ford told reporters Monday in Toronto that he’ll “fight right to the death” to oppose Trump’s threatened levies on Canadian goods.
“Not that there’s going to be any deaths,” he hastened to add.
But Ford said he will be asking stores to put Canadian flags on shelves to denote Canadian products and hinted he may try to legislate such a measure.
“I’m asking for cooperation on that.”
Ontario will also move forward with removing American products like Kentucky bourbon from LCBO shelves if tariffs are imposed, he said.
12:45 p.m. The uncertainty created by the stream of threats is a deliberate tactic on the part of Trump and his trade advisors, argued Matthew Holmes, chief of public policy at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
“I think the word strategy gives him too much credit, but it’s certainly a tactic to keep us off-balance and to really weaponize uncertainty,” said Holmes, adding that businesses in Canada and across the Atlantic are already pulling back on investment.
“The more uncertainty he creates through this rhetoric, there may as well be a tariff. All this noise about tariffs is creating an investment environment that is very cautious in Europe and Canada right now,” Holmes said.
Still, said Holmes, make no mistake – some kind of tariffs are coming.
“We need to take every day without tariffs as a win. But we need to be ready to respond. We need to assume that there will be tariffs,” Holmes said.
As deadline approaches, Canada waits to see whether Donald Trump will make good on latest tariff threat
Ongoing tariff threats and mixed signals.
Late Sunday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump issued executive orders that appeared to extend tariff-free treatment for imports under $800 from Canada and Mexico until further notice.
The move came after various Trump advisers had talked tough about trade and tariffs on American Sunday morning political TV shows, and appeared to be a softening of a previous threat.
Read the full story from the Star’s Tonda MacCharles
Trump’s Canadian steel tariffs will hurt Americans too, experts say — including a Trump supporter who bought Stelco last year
When U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports this week, it wasn’t just a shot at Canada. He also managed to side-swipe one of his most vocal allies in the steel industry.
In November, American steel giant Cleveland Cliffs swallowed up Stelco, the pride of Hamilton and Canada’s second largest steel company, for $3.4 billion.
Read the full story from the Star’s Josh Rubin
Fear and anger in Canada’s auto sector: Trump’s tariffs could bring the industry to a halt, experts say
As Donald Trump’s tariff threats grow louder and more persistent, fear in the heart of Canada’s automaking industry is palpable.
“People are feeling three things. I think it’s fear, I think it’s anger, and I think it’s uncertainty,” said Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter, whose city has been reeling at the thought of the U.S. president’s threats to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all imports, along with further tariffs on aluminum, steel and the auto industry itself.
Tuesday, in a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump mentioned a specific 25 per cent tariff on automotive imports, but it was unclear whether he was suggesting that would go on top of the already-threatened aluminum, steel and across-the-board tariffs.
Read the full story from the Star’s Josh Rubin
When are the tariffs expected to be levied?
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said tariffs would be levied Tuesday against Canada and Mexico, but the levels remained to be seen.
“Exactly what they are, we’re going to leave that for the president and his team to negotiate,” Lutnick said in an interview broadcast Sunday on Fox News.
Mike Myers sports a ‘Canada is not for sale’ tee on ‘Saturday Night Live’
Mike Myers shared his stance on U.S. President Donald Trump’s quips of making Canada the 51st state during an appearance on “Saturday Night Live” last night.
The comedian, who grew up in Scarborough, sported a black T-shirt adorned with a Canada flag and large white lettering reading “Canada is not for sale” during the closing scene, standing alongside the episode’s host Shane Gillis and Canadian singer-songwriter Tate McRae, who was the episode’s musical guest.
The comedian’s outfit choice follows the repeated comments from Trump about turning Canada into the 51st state while threatening to slap tariffs on Canada.
Read the full story from the Star’s Vanessa Tiberio
Why Canadians aren’t giving up on Costco amid Trump tariff threats — and it’s not just the hot dogs
A string of tariff threats and annexation taunts from U.S. President Donald Trump isn’t getting in the way of Canadians’ love of free samples, bulk goods and $1.50 hot dogs.
Costco, the popular, membership-only, American-owned big-box retailer founded and headquartered in Washington state, seems to have emerged as an exception to many peoples’ rule to avoid American products and companies.
The call for Canadians to boycott U.S. businesses and products and to “buy Canadian” instead comes in response to Trump’s punitive trade policies and “51st state” comments that are souring the historically friendly relationship between Canada and its southern neighbour. A recent Interac survey found that eight in 10 Canadians believe supporting local businesses is important to them amid the evolving threats.
Read the full story from the Star’s Nathan Bawaan
Olivia Chow assembles her Economic Action Team to combat Trump’s tariffs. Here’s who’s on it
Business experts, labour leaders, industry professionals and city officials overseeing Toronto’s economic health are leading the charge in Mayor Olivia Chow’s newly-recruited brigade to combat U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs looming over Canada.
On the day of the snap provincial election triggered by the premier seeking a new mandate to deal with Trump, the 13 members of the mayor’s Economic Action Team gathered at city hall for their first meeting to come up with a game plan aimed at protecting the sectors of Toronto’s economy and jobs most at risk by the ongoing trade war.
“Hardworking Torontonians are wondering if their livelihood is going to be at stake,” Chow said. “We are stronger together. We will never give up. And we will provide a plan shortly.”
Read the full story from the Star’s Mahdis Habibinia
Canadian grocery giant Loblaw is ready to speed up the way it handles price increases, to make it easier for suppliers to recoup tariff costs in the event a trade war with the U.S. breaks out next week, according to a letter obtained by the Star.
Normally when a supplier wants to increase their prices, Loblaw requires 12 weeks to evaluate the request.
Read the full story from the Star’s Jake Edmiston
The inside story of a high-stakes call between Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump as the tariff deadline loomed
American President Donald Trump raised a long list of complaints against Canada and said the Canada-U.S. boundary could disappear when he spoke with the prime minister Monday, according to details Justin Trudeau revealed behind closed doors on Friday, the Star has learned.
The Star first broke news that Trudeau told a group of nearly 200 business, industry and union leaders that Trump’s statements about annexing Canada are not a joke, and are driven in part by his desire to benefit from Canada’s critical minerals.
But there was much more to Trudeau’s revelations about his high-stakes call with the U.S. president hours before punishing tariffs were set to take effect — including that Trump suggested breaking a 1908 boundary treaty, was dismissive of Canada’s contributions to NORAD, and rhymed off a litany of irritants that the White House has with Canada, according to five sources who were in the room.
