The federal minister tasked with Canada-U.S. trade relations said Ottawa has “taken note” of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest threat to increase tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 per cent, but stopped short of announcing any formal retaliatory measures, at least for now.
Dominic LeBlanc, the federal minister whose portfolio includes Canada-U.S. trade, said in a statement on the social media platform X Saturday that the government will remain “resolute in defending our workers and our communities.”
“We can give ourselves far more than the United States can take from us,” he wrote.
In a speech in Pennsylvania Friday, Trump said that the increased tariff figures would “even further secure the steel industry in the United States.”
“Nobody’s going to get around that,” Trump said.
Industry minister Mélanie Joly, who formerly served as foreign minister, said that Canada is “fighting” the “unjustified and unlawful tariffs with our own retaliatory actions, strong domestic support packages, and big moves to diversify our trade.”
She added that she plans to meet with steel and aluminum producers and workers over the coming days to “advance” a plan in response to Trump’s pledge.
Terry Sheehan, the Liberal MP who represents the steel-dependent riding of Sault Ste. Marie, wrote that the government will “not back down” in the face of tariffs that “threaten to further damage the vital relationship between our two countries.”
Sault Ste. Marie’s mayor, Matthew Shoemaker, said Trump is “trying to cripple our economy.”
Meanwhile, United Steelworkers, which represents over 220,000 workers in Canada, said that the 50 per cent tariff would “completely shut us out of the U.S. market” and called on the government to “move quickly to strengthen domestic demand.”
“This isn’t trade policy — it’s a direct attack on Canadian industries and workers,” national director Marty Warren said of the president’s recent announcement.
In March, Trump put 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the United States. Trump used Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to impose steel and aluminum duties and said it will help bring manufacturing back to the United States.
Earlier this week, a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled Trump does not have the authority to wield tariffs, a pause that was subsequently lifted by a federal appeals court Thursday.
A Leger poll from earlier this month found that nearly 70 per cent of Canadians are in favour of the federal government imposing dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.
With files from The Canadian Press
