TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s outgoing prime minister and the leader of the oil-rich province of Alberta are both convinced Canada can avoid the Rates 25% President Donald Trump said he would impose the diet on February 1.
Justin Trudeau and Danielle Smith will argue that Canada is the energy superpower that has the essential oil and minerals America needs to feed its countries. Asset wishes will be a booming American economy.
But Doug Ford, premier of Ontario, Canada’s manufacturing hub, said a trade war was 100% imminent.
Trump “declared economic war on Canada,” Ford said in an interview with The Associated Press. “And we’re going to use each tool in our toolbox to defend our economy.
Trudeau said Canada would retaliate if necessary, but noted that Canada had already been present here during the first Trump presidency when he successfully renegotiated the free trade agreement.
Ford said that as soon as Trump implements tariffs, he will direct the Ontario Liquor Corporation to remove all U.S.-made alcohol from shelves.
“We are the largest buyer of alcohol in the world. And I’m going to encourage all prime ministers to do exactly the same thing,” Ford said, adding that there would be dollar-for-dollar tariff retaliation on U.S. products entering Canada.
“We will also target Republican-held areas. They will feel the pain. Canadians will feel the pain, but Americans will feel it too,” he said. “A message to countries around the world: if he wants to use Canada as an example, it’s up to you. He’s coming after you too.
Trump promised in his inaugural speech that prices would come in a speech in which he promised a golden age for America. He later said that Canada and Mexico could be hit by tariffs as early as February 1, although he signed a decree requesting a coordinated report from the Secretary of Commerce by April. 1.
About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports come from Canada. Despite Trump’s assertion that the United States does not need Canada, nearly a quarter of the oil America consumes daily comes from Canada. The US’s northern neighbor also has 34 essential minerals and metals that the Pentagon is fond of and is also the US’s largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium.
Nearly 3.6 billion Canadian dollars ($2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border every day. Canada is the primary export destination for 36 U.S. states.
“Trump wants to usher in a golden age for the United States,” Trudeau said at a Cabinet retreat in Quebec organized to confront Trump’s threats.
“If the American economy is to experience the boom that Donald Trump predicts, it will need more energy, more steel and aluminum, more essential minerals, more products that Canada sells to the United States every day.
On Tuesday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stressed the need to keep “a cool head” and examine the wording of what Trump signed, rather than listen to the rhetoric surrounding it.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stressed the need to keep “a cool head” and examine the wording of what Trump signed, rather than listen to the rhetoric surrounding it. ((SPANISH: “What they are saying is that the trade agreement continues and that there is a review process that is provided for in the agreement itself for a review in 2026 and that in any case , the Secretary of Commerce will establish measures if there is no agreement regarding issues such as fentanyl or other security issues).
Regarding the threat of tariffs, Sheinbaum took comfort in saying that “ America First Trade Policy The order Trump signed Monday speaks to the free trade agreement signed with Mexico and Canada during Trump’s first term, which sets out clear processes for disputes. She noted that a formal review of the agreement is planned for July 2026.
“Right now, what President Donald Trump has signed is that the trade treaty continues,” Sheinbaum said when asked if Mexico was still willing to retaliate with its own tariffs during its daily press briefing.
Smith, premier of Alberta, Canada’s oil-rich province, said the April 1 deadline gives Canadians time to make the case to the Trump administration that Canada should be exempt from tariffs.
“With the energy emergency that they have declared and with their desire for critical minerals, Canada is the answer,” Smith told the AP. Canada can get a “total exclusion” from the tariffs, she said.
Smith noted that Canada is the world’s largest supplier of uranium and a major source of critical minerals that the United States desperately needs. She said Canadians and Americans would be hurt by a trade war but said Canadians couldn’t afford it in particular.
“We have to be realistic. We’re talking about a $21 trillion economy and the amount of products we sell in the United States is on the order of $300 billion,” Smith said.
“We don’t have the same type of market power as an economy that they do. We are a tenth of their size. We need to be realistic about what a trade and tariff war looks like. It would hurt us more than them.
Smith said Americans in some states could pay more than a dollar per gallon more for gasoline.
“Americans will pay more in states that rely on Canadian products and Canadians will simply pay more in return,” Smith said. “We could spend the next four years fighting for this or we can spend the next four years building access to pipelines and making sure we develop critical minerals for our common benefit. I prefer to have the second conversation.
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Associated Press writer María Verza in Mexico City contributed to this report.
