25% tariffs now in effect

Months of hot air and bravado have finally come to fruition: Canada is in a trade war.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on Canada, imposed Tuesday, have sent buy-Canadian intentions skyrocketing just as the stock markets and Canadian dollar plunge. Maple leaf signs line grocery store shelves and “proudly Canadian” advertisements fill the airways.

But navigating this new world can be daunting — and it’s not made any easier by how intertwined Canada’s supply chain is with the U.S.

9:55 a.m. Quebec also removing U.S. products from liquor stores.

9:52 a.m. On CNN, Premier Doug Ford warned auto plants will “shut down within 10 days” on both sides of the border.

“Unfortunately, the president has gone sideways,” Ford said. “The president needs to be stopped.”

“They’re absolutely livid,” he told CNN when asked about the state of Canadians. “We’ve stood shoulder-to-shoulder in wars.”

On retaliation, Ford said “I won’t hesitate to use every tool in our tool box.”

Whether that includes shutting off the supply of electricity Ontario sells to several border states remains to be seen.

9:52 a.m. Canada’s main stock index fell more than 300 points at the open as the U.S. imposed broad tariffs on goods coming from Canada and Mexico.

The S&P/TSX composite was down 326.69 points at 24,674.88.

9:46 a.m. Premier Doug Ford has ordered the LCBO, one of the world’s largest purchasers of Kentucky bourbon and California wine, to remove American products from shelves this morning. That’s his initial response to Trump’s tariffs.

9:45 a.m. The Canadian government is opening new drug testing lab spaces in Toronto and Vancouver with a full-time team at Health Canada focused on combatting illegal precursor chemicals and drug production, fulfilling another part of Canada’s $1.3 billion border plan announced following Donald Trump’s election.

Health Canada says the expanded lab could analyze up to 2,000 illegal drug samples per year, and will work with law enforcement to trace the place and source of production of the samples.

“Tariffs are an economic weapon—and Trump just pointed it at Ontario workers. We need to fight like hell. To protect jobs. To protect industries. To make sure our economy is built to withstand this and whatever comes next. A tariff-proof economy isn’t a slogan. It’s an economic imperative. For Ontario. For Canada. For all of us.”

9:25 a.m. The premier of Nova Scotia posted on X on Tuesday morning calling Donald Trump a short-sighted man who wields his power just for the sake of it.

“It is impossible to properly describe the uncertainty and chaos that President Trump’s threat of tariffs and now actually imposing tariffs has caused for Canadians. And now, as President Trump proceeds with his illegal 25 per cent tariffs, Nova Scotia will respond,” he said on X. 

As U.S. President Donald Trump‘s 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican products (alongside 10 per cent duties on energy products) set in, Canada could be pushed into a recession and lose hundreds of thousands of jobs, some economists warn.

In return, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau enacted retaliatory tariffs on American goods as the U.S. tariffs kicked in.

8:41 a.m. Doug Ford will be speaking on tariffs at 11:30 a.m. 

8:32 a.m. Some economists are now forecasting the Bank of Canada to cut its key rate on March 12 as tariffs risk pushing Canada into a “moderate recession,” said Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO, in a note to clients Tuesday morning.

“The Bank of Canada will now have its finger on the easing trigger on March 12, despite its earlier reservations about responding hastily,” said Guatieri. – Ana Pereira 

China responded to new U.S. tariffs by announcing Tuesday it will impose additional tariffs of up to 15 per cent on imports of key U.S. farm products, including chicken, pork, soy and beef, and expanded controls on doing business with key U.S. companies.

The tariffs announced by the Commerce Ministry will take effect from March 10, though goods already in transit will be exempt until April 12. They follow U.S. President Donald Trump’s order to raise tariffs on imports of Chinese products to 20% across the board. Those took effect on Tuesday, along with 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico.

8:25 a.m. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to speak around 10:30 a.m. this morning. 

He will be joined by the Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs, Dominic LeBlanc, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, and the Minister of Public Safety, David J. McGuinty. 

Check back for a livesteam and updates. 

The federal union that represents Canada’s front-line customs and immigration officers says it’s worried about staffing levels at the Canada Border Services Agency as the country responds to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.

Trump’s executive order to implement 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian products, with a lower 10 per cent levy on energy, are set to kick in Tuesday.

Despite Canada’s efforts to meet Trump’s demands to boost border security and launch a weeks-long diplomatic push by Canadian officials in Washington, Trump said Monday that the tariffs will take effect as planned.

“As the U.S. imposes tariffs, hardworking Torontonians are worried. People are concerned about their jobs and cost of food. Toronto stands united in a Team Canada approach to respond to this senseless trade action. We will get through this together,” Chow said. 

Trump’s announcement dashed hopes on Wall Street that he would choose a less painful path for global trade, and it followed the latest warning signal on the U.S. economy’s strength. Monday’s loss shaved the S&P 500’s gain since Election Day down to just over 1 per cent from a peak of more than 6 per cent. That rally had been built largely on hopes for policies from Trump that would strengthen the U.S. economy and businesses.

Trump on Monday directed a “pause” to U.S. assistance to Ukraine as he seeks to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to engage in negotiations to end the war with Russia.

President Donald Trump’s long-threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico finally went into effect Tuesday, putting global markets on edge and setting up costly retaliations by the United States’ North American allies.

Starting just past midnight, imports from Canada and Mexico are now to be taxed at 25%, with Canadian energy products getting tariffed at 10%. In addition, the 10% tariff that Trump placed on Chinese imports in February is doubling to 20%.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Canada will respond with 25 per cent tariffs on $155 billion worth of American goods over 21 days.

Trudeau is set to hold a press conference Tuesday morning along with Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Public Safety Minister David McGuinty.

The Canada and Mexico tariffs were originally supposed to begin in February, but Trump agreed to a 30-day suspension to negotiate further with the two largest U.S. trading partners.

Ongoing tariff threats and mixed signals.

Despite weeks of lobbying in Washington by Canadian cabinet ministers and heads of the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency, Ottawa had no formal word early Monday afternoon about what would happen.

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was en route from London back to Canada, two federal cabinet ministers said the federal government would levy counter-tariffs as promised if Trump follows through his generalized 25 per cent tariff threat against Canada and Mexico tonight.

When U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports this week, it wasn’t just a shot at Canada. He also managed to side-swipe one of his most vocal allies in the steel industry.

In November, American steel giant Cleveland Cliffs swallowed up Stelco, the pride of Hamilton and Canada’s second largest steel company, for $3.4 billion.

“People are feeling three things. I think it’s fear, I think it’s anger, and I think it’s uncertainty,” said Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter, whose city has been reeling at the thought of the U.S. president’s threats to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all imports, along with further tariffs on aluminum, steel and the auto industry itself.

Tuesday, in a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump mentioned a specific 25 per cent tariff on automotive imports, but it was unclear whether he was suggesting that would go on top of the already-threatened aluminum, steel and across-the-board tariffs.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said tariffs would be levied Tuesday against Canada and Mexico, but the levels remained to be seen.

Mike Myers shared his stance on U.S. President Donald Trump’s quips of making Canada the 51st state during an appearance on “Saturday Night Live” last night.

The comedian, who grew up in Scarborough, sported a black T-shirt adorned with a Canada flag and large white lettering reading “Canada is not for sale” during the closing scene, standing alongside the episode’s host Shane Gillis and Canadian singer-songwriter Tate McRae, who was the episode’s musical guest.

The comedian’s outfit choice follows the repeated comments from Trump about turning Canada into the 51st state while threatening to slap tariffs on Canada.

A string of tariff threats and annexation taunts from U.S. President Donald Trump isn’t getting in the way of Canadians’ love of free samples, bulk goods and $1.50 hot dogs.

Costco, the popular, membership-only, American-owned big-box retailer founded and headquartered in Washington state, seems to have emerged as an exception to many peoples’ rule to avoid American products and companies.

The call for Canadians to boycott U.S. businesses and products and to “buy Canadian” instead comes in response to Trump’s punitive trade policies and “51st state” comments that are souring the historically friendly relationship between Canada and its southern neighbour. A recent Interac survey found that eight in 10 Canadians believe supporting local businesses is important to them amid the evolving threats.

Business experts, labour leaders, industry professionals and city officials overseeing Toronto’s economic health are leading the charge in Mayor Olivia Chow’s newly-recruited brigade to combat U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs looming over Canada.

On the day of the snap provincial election triggered by the premier seeking a new mandate to deal with Trump, the 13 members of the mayor’s Economic Action Team gathered at city hall for their first meeting to come up with a game plan aimed at protecting the sectors of Toronto’s economy and jobs most at risk by the ongoing trade war.

“Hardworking Torontonians are wondering if their livelihood is going to be at stake,” Chow said. “We are stronger together. We will never give up. And we will provide a plan shortly.”

Canadian grocery giant Loblaw is ready to speed up the way it handles price increases, to make it easier for suppliers to recoup tariff costs in the event a trade war with the U.S. breaks out next week, according to a letter obtained by the Star.

Normally when a supplier wants to increase their prices, Loblaw requires 12 weeks to evaluate the request.

American President Donald Trump raised a long list of complaints against Canada and said the Canada-U.S. boundary could disappear when he spoke with the prime minister Monday, according to details Justin Trudeau revealed behind closed doors on Friday, the Star has learned.

The Star first broke news that Trudeau told a group of nearly 200 business, industry and union leaders that Trump’s statements about annexing Canada are not a joke, and are driven in part by his desire to benefit from Canada’s critical minerals.

But there was much more to Trudeau’s revelations about his high-stakes call with the U.S. president hours before punishing tariffs were set to take effect — including that Trump suggested breaking a 1908 boundary treaty, was dismissive of Canada’s contributions to NORAD, and rhymed off a litany of irritants that the White House has with Canada, according to five sources who were in the room.