United States President Donald Trump confirmed this weekend that 25 per cent tariffs against Canadian goods will go into effect on Tuesday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Canada will retaliate with tariffs of its own against $155 billion in American goods, including alcohol, furniture and natural resources.
Here’s the latest (all times eastern):
12:20
The National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations says provinces and territories cannot exclude First Nations as they make plans to retaliate against U.S. tariffs.
Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says any conversations about critical minerals, oil and gas or any other commodity must include First Nations, and communications with the provinces and territories have been limited to date.
She says tariffs threaten the economic stability of First Nations businesses, disrupt critical supply chains and undermine the principles of nation-to-nation relationships.
She says she’ll be meeting with her counterparts in the U.S. in the coming weeks to talk about cross-border mobility for Indigenous Peoples and cooperation in light of the tariff threat.
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12:15
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says she has instructed city staff to work with the federal and provincial governments to respond to looming U.S. tariffs.
Chow says Toronto will have an action plan that will include a buy-Canadian initiative to prioritize buying local goods and services.
She says the city’s plan will also include a review of Toronto’s procurement policies and contracts.
Chow says she is convening a team of the city’s largest employers and key labour leaders to provide advice as Toronto moves to respond to the U.S. tariffs.
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12:05
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says he is looking for ways to prevent companies in the United States from bidding on provincial contracts.
Kinew says cabinet ministers with portfolios tied to the economy have been tasked with looking at changes to procurement procedures.
Kinew says if U.S. President Donald Trump is bent on taking jobs out of Manitoba, the province has to fight back.
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12:00
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says Canada should look at making the Canada Border Services Agency a branch of the Canadian Armed Forces.
Moe says he brought the idea forward when the premiers met with Trudeau and members of his cabinet last month to talk about Canada’s tariff response.
The Saskatchewan premier says that bringing the CBSA into the military would increase border resources and defence spending in one move, which would help Canada get closer to its NATO commitment of spending two per cent of GDP on defence.
He’s calling on Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc to consider the proposal.
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11:15
New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt says her government will stop signing deals with American companies, except for critical services that cannot be “immediately replaced.”
Like some other premiers, she has directed her province’s liquor seller to stop purchasing U.S. alcohol and remove American products from the shelves.
NB Liquor sells about $40 million worth of American products annually.
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11:00
President Donald Trump says he had a “very friendly” conversation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, during which she agreed to “immediately” put 10,000 Mexican soldiers on the shared border to combat fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration.
In a post on his own social media platform, Truth Social, Trump says he is pausing his plan to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Mexico for one month as negotiations are held between the two countries.
Trump says the American side will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his nominee for commerce secretary Howard Lutnick.
Trump concludes by saying he looks forward to the negotiations.
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10:50
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says her country is being granted a one-month reprieve from U.S. tariffs.
In a statement posted on the social media platform X, Sheinbaum says she spoke with Trump this morning and calls it a “good conversation” with “great respect” for Mexico’s sovereignty.
She says Mexico has agreed to station 10,000 members of its national guard on the U.S. border to combat drug trafficking with a focus on fentanyl.
In exchange, Sheinbaum says the U.S. committed to working on preventing the movement of high-powered weapons into Mexico.
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10:50
Prince Edward Island’s Green Party is calling on the government to establish a task force dedicated to identifying and securing new markets for the province’s goods to address the 25 per cent tariffs imposed by the United States.
It says this task force could engage with international partners, trade organizations, and domestic stakeholders to reduce the province’s reliance on U-S trade.
The Green Party is also asking the government to launch a provincewide “Buy Local, Build Local” campaign to promote Island-made products.
It’s asking for accessible guides to help Islanders identify Canadian-made products, to ensure support for domestic businesses.
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10:30 a.m.
Poll results released today suggest that almost two-thirds of residents in the Maritimes expect to travel less to the United States because of Donald Trump’s presidency.
The Narrative Research survey of 1,618 residents of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and P.E.I. — conducted between Jan. 30-31 — found that 62 per cent of respondents said they would spend less time travelling south, with the top reason being dissatisfaction or disagreement with Trump’s leadership. One-third of those curtailing their travel cited financial reasons specifically related to tariffs, and opposition to Trump’s economic policies.
A similar survey in December found only 37 per cent of respondents were expecting to travel less to the U.S.
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10:30 a.m.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says U.S. President Donald Trump is causing Canadians to face some of their toughest challenges ever with tariffs coming into effect on Tuesday.
He says that if Canada is going to win the fight, everything needs to be on the table and policy-makers must identify critical points of leverage for maximum impact.
Ford, who is campaigning for re-election, announced today that he would rip up a $100-million deal with Elon Musk’s satellite internet constellation Starlink, following the premier’s announcement that the province’s liquor monopoly would pull American products off the shelves.
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10 a.m.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office confirmed he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump this morning and will speak with him again later today.
Trump has linked his coming trade war with Canada to fentanyl crossing the border into the U.S., but in a post on Truth Social he also questioned why Canada, in his words, “doesn’t even allow U.S. banks to open or do business there.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2025.
