Trump threatens even steeper 35% tariff on Canadian goods

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe called for a measured response.

“Trump is going to continue his tariff threats, as he did again last night,” he wrote Friday morning.

“We need to react but not overreact, keep engaging with US officials and keep expanding our markets to other countries."

Canada’s premiers are beginning to weigh in on the latest missive from the White House.

As mentioned, Trump's letter cited fentanyl "pouring" into the U.S. from Canada as justification for more tariffs. Data continues to show that only minimal amounts of the drug are crossing the Canada-U.S. border compared to the U.S.-Mexico border.

B.C. Premier David Eby took to social media on Thursday night calling Trump's letter “flailing and factually incorrect.”

“Other F words come to mind,” Eby wrote on X.

“Just one more reminder of why Canadians need to come together, to grow our economy and stand strong.”

Canada initially slapped $29.8 billion worth of tariffs on American goods on March 12. That was mainly aimed at countering U.S. tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and aluminum.

Last month, Trump raised that to 50 per cent, but Canada held off on hitting back. Prime Minister Mark Carney called the move “unjustified” and promised to respond, but said it would take “some time,” adding that trade negotiations were ongoing.

That didn’t sit well with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who called for an immediate counter-tariff of 25 per cent on U.S. steel.

“We can’t sit back and let President Trump steamroll us,” he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters a day after sending Canada a letter threatening a 35 per cent tariff on Aug. 1, said 'they called' but did not specify who from Canada reached out or what was discussed.

Trump briefly addressed his new tariff threats on Friday morning before travelling to Texas.

Asked by a U.S. reporter about Canada, he said “they called” on Thursday.

“I think it was fairly well-received. It’s what we need. So we’ll see what happens," the president said.

The Prime Minister’s Office says Carney’s statement from last night stands. He’s not expected to further address Trump’s new tariff threat today.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne had been scheduled to hold a media availability from Rome later today, where he’s attending the Ukraine Recovery Conference. But that was cancelled early this morning.

We are still expecting to hear from Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson and Industry Minister Mélanie Joly today. Both have events scheduled for this afternoon.

Trump has already warned that he will impose even higher tariffs if Canada retaliates with more or higher tariffs of its own. That may be because he knows the tactic works.

On March 6, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would charge Minnesota, New York and Michigan 25 per cent more for electricity coming from the province in retaliation against U.S. tariffs.

Trump responded by saying Ontario "will pay a financial price for this so big that it will be read about in History Books.”

Less than a week later, Ford backed down and cancelled the price increase.

Trump’s latest threat will not apply to goods that comply with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement, a Trump administration official told CBC News this morning.

The 35 per cent tariff Trump posted about on TruthSocial last night is expected to apply to goods already tariffed at 25 per cent, the official said.

U.S. tariffs on potash and energy are expected to remain at 10 per cent. However, no final decisions have been made by Trump.

The latest data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows an uptick in the amount of fentanyl seized near the northern American border with Canada. But the quantities intercepted remain a tiny fraction of what's coming from Mexico.

The figures show U.S. border guards hauled in a relatively miniscule amount of the deadly drug in the first few months of the 2024-25 fiscal year — often reporting 0.5 kilograms or less — before a jump in April and May, when officials captured six and 14 kilograms, respectively, near the Canadian boundary.

By comparison, officials at the U.S. southwestern border with Mexico have so far seized some 3,700 kilograms of fentanyl this fiscal year — enough product to potentially kill hundreds of thousands of drug users.

In his statement on Thursday, Carney said Canada had made "vital progress" in stemming the flow of fentanyl.

"We are committed to continuing to work with the United States to save lives and protect communities in both our countries," he said.

In his letter, Trump again cited fentanyl "pouring" into the U.S. from Canada as justification for the tariff increase — even though data continues to show that minimal amounts of the drug are crossing the Canada-U.S. border, compared to the U.S.'s southern border.

Trump has used the same rationale for his tariffs against Canadian goods since he won a second term in November. He said the levies are meant to punish Canada so long as it fails to stop the problem of drugs moving south, which he said creates a national security threat.

"If Canada works with me to stop the flow of Fentanyl, we will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter," Trump wrote.