Bleak Economic North American Future

"You come at us, we aren't rolling over."

"I've never seen patriotism like this in my entire life running wild across the country and we're just going to keep ramping it up, over and over again."

Ontario Premier Doug Ford

 

"A clear set of things that would prevent tariffs from happening is not there."

"We should brace for it and brace for the fact that this could go on for the next four years."

Immigration Minister Marc Miller

 

"Businesses on both side of the border have already been damaged by the uncertainty coming from President Trump's drip-drip-drip of tariff threats."

"We have no reason to expect this will change any time soon. Whether it's tomorrow, next week, or in April, there has already been damage to the relationship and to our economies."

Matthew Holmes, executive vice-president public policy chief, Canadian Chamber of Commerce 

"If Trump is imposing tariffs, we're ready."

"We are ready with $155 billion worth of tariffs and we're ready with the first tranche of tariffs."

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly

President Donald Trump, alongside Howard Lutnick, speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 3, 2025.   Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images

 

"No room left for Canada", stated American President Donald Trump, fully prepared to forge ahead with his across-the-board 25% tariff on all Canadian goods and services entering the United States. Midnight Tuesday was the cut-off, despite that both Mexico and Canada had persuaded a doubtful Trump that they would take concrete steps to monitor their borders into the U.S. against the entry of Fentanyl and illegal migrants, given a month to prove their efforts would work. 

 

In 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection wrote up a monthly average of 17,000 'encounters at the Canadian border (referring to people either turned away at a port of entry or arrested attempting to illegally enter the U.S.). Those encounters come January dropped to 5,133. Canada is credited with being the source of a tiny portion of the 21,900 pounds of fentanyl seized by U.S. Customs and Border protection in 2024. Of that total, 43 pounds arrived by way of the Canadian land border. For 2025, the record shows 10 pounds entered the U.S. from Canada of a total 5,600 pounds seized.

 

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum looks on during her daily press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City on February 28, 2025. Alfredo Estrella/AFP via Getty Images

"We will always seek a negotiated solution, as we have proposed within the framework of respect for our sovereignty, but the unilateral decision made by the United States affects national and foreign companies operating in our country and affects our peoples."

"That is why we have decided to respond with tariff and non-tariff measures that I will announce in the public square next Sunday."

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum

Those U.S.-imposed tariffs are now enforced. For its part Canada has returned the compliment responding with 25 percent tariffs on $30 billion of U.S. products inclusive of poultry, dairy products, fruits and vegetables; almost all alcohol, cigarettes and bottled water. $125 billion worth of U.S. goods would follow when businesses in Canada succeed in sourcing alternatives. 

Ontario's Premier Ford prepared to direct the liquor commission of the province to pull all American alcohol from its shelves. The $100-million agreement signed between Ontario and Starlink will be terminated. Provincial retailers have been tasked to aid consumers fighting back by labelling which products are made in Canada; a voluntary move he is prepared to legislate if need be. That hard won 30-day reprieve dependent on hardening borders has been declared over.

 

The regular traffic of Canadian provincial leaders and federal ministers to the United States to appeal to their American counterparts elicited empathetic support from State governors and reiteration of 'Trump's the boss' from the U.S. Cabinet. High level representation pointed out that Trump's figures are wildly out of whack with reality with the latest Canadian delegation correcting inaccuracies in citing immigration and drugs being attributed to porous borders in Canada.

 

A 25% tariff universally applied by the U.S., warn industry, union and political leaders, would be devastating both to Canadian jobs and prices in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis in North America, but as well to sectors across the United States. Canada and other trade allies are bracing for tariffs imposed on steel and aluminum, that Trump is prepared to impose in another week, along with "reciprocal tariffs", by April 2. 

Next up: European Union, Greenland and the Panama Canal

 

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly talked about annexing both Greenland, seen here, and Canada. (Emil Stach/Ritzau Scanpix/The Associated Press)