Justin Trudeau to speak after Donald Trump muses about tariffs coming Feb. 1

By Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press on January 21, 2025.

MONTEBELLO, Que. – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to speak with media today, the first time he’ll take questions since President Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington.

Trudeau is huddling with his team in Montebello, Que., for the government’s annual winter cabinet retreat, which will be his last before he steps aside in March.

Usually scheduled to coincide with the return of Parliament after the holidays, the retreat this year is instead focused on the Canada-U.S. trade strategy.

Shortly after winning the presidential race, Trump threatened to impose punishing tariffs against Canada on his first day in office.

That didn’t happen, but Trump said late Monday evening that he’s thinking about hitting Canada and Mexico with tariffs on Feb. 1.

Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc says this changes little, and the government has prepared responses for various possible scenarios that it’s been going over for weeks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2025.

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