U.S. President Donald Trump still plans to enact 25 per cent tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico starting this weekend, the White House said Tuesday.
Speaking at the first press briefing of the new administration, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she had discussed the issue with Trump and does not believe the president has wavered from the Feb. 1 start date for those tariffs.
“As far as I’m still tracking, and that was last night talking to the president directly, Feb. 1 is still on the books,” she said.
Canadian officials have been mounting a full court press on the Trump administration to try and prevent the economically-damaging tariffs, including pitching enhanced trade and energy partnerships, while also preparing a potential response.
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson told reporters on Tuesday that “we need to ensure we’re trying to shield Canadians from the fallout.”
The federal government has also made new investments in border security to address concerns raised by Trump about fentanyl and human trafficking.
Leavitt brought up Trump’s “specific statements in terms of Canada and Mexico when it comes to what he expects in terms of border security” while discussing the tariffs, but did not say if Trump believes Canada has done enough.
She pointed to last weekend’s standoff with Colombia, which initially refused U.S. repatriation flights of deported migrants but then backed down when Trump threatened tariffs, as an example of the use of tariffs as a negotiating tool.
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“I won’t get ahead of the president on advocating to foreign nations what they should or shouldn’t do to get away from these tariffs,” she said.
“The president has made it very clear that he expects every nation around this world to cooperate with the repatriation of their citizens.”
Despite Ottawa’s border plan, Trump has more recently brought up the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and imbalances in defence spending to justify his tariff threat.
He has repeatedly said Canada should become a U.S. state instead of the U.S. “subsidizing” its northern ally.
Leavitt wouldn’t say if the 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, as well as additional tariffs Trump has promised on Chinese goods, will “stack up” along with universal tariffs on select materials like steel and aluminum.
“All I can point you to is what the president has said on this front: the Feb. 1 date for Canada and Mexico, also the China tariff he has discussed … I’ll leave it for him to make any decisions on that front,” she said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly on Monday expressed hope that a diplomatic solution can be reached, but said Canada will be “ready on Day One” to respond if Trump follows through with tariffs on Saturday.
Joly will travel to Washington on Wednesday to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in another bid to push back on the tariffs.
Earlier Tuesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford pointed to the threat posed by Trump’s tariffs to justify calling an early election this week, but suggested the Feb. 1 date may not be set in stone.
“Right now, President Trump has put uncertainty to every single Canadian, a lot of other countries around the world, and this isn’t going to happen overnight,” he said.
“It may not happen Feb. 1 — I’m sure something’s coming — but this is going to be a battle for the next four years, and I want to make sure that I have a strong mandate to outlast President Trump.”
Ford said he plans to continue acting in his capacity as premier, including visiting Washington, D.C., in February with a group of other premiers, while campaigning for another mandate.
—with files from the Canadian Press
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