OTTAWA – U.S. President Donald Trump’s team is indicating he won’t hit Canada with damaging tariffs on his inauguration day.
Shortly before Trump was sworn into office Monday, an incoming White House official who insisted on anonymity pointed reporters to a Wall Street Journal report that said Trump plans to sign an executive order launching an investigation into alleged unfair trade and currency practices by Canada, Mexico and China.
In November, Trump threatened to hit Canada with steep 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs in an executive order on his first day back in office.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said repeatedly that Canada is ready to respond with countermeasures if Trump makes good on that threat. Trudeau issued a statement congratulating Trump shortly after his swearing-in.
“We are strongest when we work together, and I look forward to working with President Trump, his administration, members of the United States Congress, and officials at the state and local levels to deliver prosperity for our peoples – while protecting and defending the interests of Canadians,” Trudeau said in the statement.
Two federal government sources who were not authorized to speak publicly about details of the federal counter-tariff plan say the government is waiting to see what Trump does before revealing its response.
The federal government has promised to pump $1.3 billion in new resources into border security over the next six years in the hopes of convincing Trump not to impose tariffs.
Trump initially tied the tariffs to concerns about border security but later seemed more concerned with the trade imbalance between Canada and the U.S.
As Trump begins his second term as president, federal cabinet ministers are gathering in Montebello, Que., Monday and Tuesday to discuss the tariff threat.
Prime Minister Trudeau met with the country’s 13 premiers last Wednesday to discuss possible retaliatory actions. At the end of those meetings, he and 12 premiers released a statement pledging to present a united front to their American counterparts.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith opted out, saying she could not support any retaliation plan that included measures affecting oil and gas.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday the tariff threat still needs to be taken seriously, despite the news that Trump is expected to hold off.
“He’s just adding more uncertainty, (saying) ‘I may not do it today, I’ll do it tomorrow. Maybe I’ll do it in a month.’ That doesn’t help,” Ford told CityNews. “So we’re going to take him serious.”
The head of Canada’s largest private-sector union said she’s skeptical of the reports saying Trump won’t proceed with tariffs, given how he imposed tariffs during his first administration.
“No one should be breathing a sigh of relief at all right now,” Unifor president Lana Payne said Monday morning.
Payne said the “constant threat of tariffs” undermines investment and constantly puts Canada’s economy in danger. She said the solution is to invest in industrial plans for Canadian manufacturing, put supports in place to prepare for job losses and collaborate across political parties, business and organized labour.
“We have to come together in a profound way over the next four years to make sure that we’re guarding against any future threat, but also making sure that we’ve got our act together in Canada,” she said. “It’s not going to stop here. The demands are going to grow.”
While Trump vowed during the election campaign to introduce broad tariffs, a new poll suggests there is limited support for them among Americans.
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey found almost half of U.S. adults oppose putting tariffs on all goods brought into the U.S. from other countries — more than were in favour or were neutral on the question.
— With files from Dylan Robertson and Kelly Geraldine Malone in Washington, and from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2025.
