U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods as early as Saturday.
Politicians and business groups are making a final push today in the hope of avoiding or mitigating the move, and the economic uncertainty that would follow.
Here’s the latest (all times Eastern):
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3:10 p.m.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the U.S.-Canada cabinet committee he revived after Trump’s election win have been meeting for more than two hours this afternoon.
The meeting is taking place mostly virtually with Trudeau and his cabinet in multiple different cities.
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1:42 p.m.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says a plan to meet U.S. tariffs dollar for dollar, tariff for tariff would be the best show of strength and unity.
Asked what Ontario’s plans are going into the weekend, Ford says there are a lot of tools in the toolbox that America depends on.
Ford also emphasized that the goalposts are shifting minute by minute and it’s important to find out what’s going to happen before taking action.
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1:25 p.m.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says U.S. President Donald Trump will implement 25 per cent tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico and 10 per cent tariffs on good from China on Saturday.
She did not offer any details about possible exemptions and said media reports that the tariffs would be delayed until March were false.
Asked during the briefing about the possibility of a trade war, Leavitt dismissed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promise to respond to tariffs in kind.
She says Trudeau should speak to Trump directly.
“The tariffs are incoming tomorrow on Canada,” she says.
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12:05 p.m.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he is not sure what Trump will ultimately do around tariffs. Speaking on “The Megyn Kelly Show” on Thursday, Rubio said the tariff threats were “not hostile moves.”
He said Americans and Canadians have a common interest in keeping the border safe. But, Rubio said, Trump “clearly wants to address both illegal migration but ultimately also our economic interests.”
Rubio said he doesn’t think Canada is a strategic threat to the United States and noted his recent meeting with Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly.
“We have issues we need to address with Canada. They’re good friends. I mean, we work with them on a lot of things,” he said. “We have a deep partnership with them, and – but there are some issues we’re going to need to address.”
Rubio was asked about Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford’s comments about cutting off electricity and not bringing a knife to a gunfight. Rubio asked if the U.S. is cut off, who Ontario would sell the electricity to. The secretary of state also said it shows the importance of America boosting its own energy supply.
“At the end of the day, it’s a reminder, when you talk about Canada, of why energy is a national security matter and why the U.S. must be able to have a reliable and consistent source of energy, or we are in a lot of trouble.”
In the wide-ranging interview Rubio also spoke about Trump’s claims of wanting to purchase Greenland and the importance of the Arctic in pushing back Russia and China.
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11:20 a.m.
The Canadian dollar fell to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar since the early days of the pandemic as U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods loomed and Statistics Canada reported the economy contracted in November.
The Canadian dollar dipped below 69 cents US earlier in the day on fears of a trade war.
Desjardins managing director Royce Mendes says in an analysis this morning that the loonie has farther to fall if tariffs take effect.
Although currency markets reacted to the announcement, Mendes says the magnitude was relatively minor compared to what should be expected if it turns out that 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs will be in place for an extended period of time.
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10:30 a.m.
It remains unclear what decision U.S. President Donald Trump has made in regard to slapping Canada with tariffs, as well as the outcome of his Thursday night deliberations on whether oil will be included in the duties.
There will be a White House briefing at 1 p.m. where press secretary Karoline Leavitt will face questions from reporters.
Trump is scheduled to sign executive orders around 3 p.m. The president has used these opportunities, including on Thursday, to answer questions from the press.
Trump is set to leave the White House around 5 p.m. to travel to Mar-a-Lago, his Florida club which has become a base for Republicans and the president’s team.
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10 a.m.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is ready to deliver a “purposeful, forceful but reasonable immediate” response if U.S. President Donald Trump imposes tariffs on Canadian imports.
During an event in Toronto today, Trudeau said that it’s “not what we want, but if he moves forward, we will also act.”
His comments come as three federal cabinet ministers are in Washington making a last-ditch attempt to stop Trump from slapping 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports as early as Saturday.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty and Immigration Minister Marc Miller are all in the U.S. capital making a final diplomatic push to convince Republican lawmakers and Trump’s team to sway the president.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2025.
