OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney huddled with Canada’s premiers Thursday to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs.
Carney was expected to deliver his response to the duties shortly after the meeting.
On Wednesday Trump unveiled a 10 per cent baseline tariff on imports from most countries and a lengthy list of higher tariffs dozens of countries will face.
A White House fact sheet said goods imported under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, known as CUSMA, still do not face tariffs, though imports that fall outside the continental trade pact will be hit with 25 per cent levies.
Trump also said he is going ahead with previously announced 25 per cent tariffs on automobile imports starting today, which will add to existing 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., including from Canada.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is proposing “victory bonds” to help Ottawa raise funds to fight back against Trump’s tariff threats.
The bonds would be similar to the bonds Canada issued in both world wars to raise revenue to fund the war effort.
Singh said in Ottawa Thursday morning that, just like a shooting war, trade wars are expensive and Canada needs to find ways to fund its defence. He said Canadians are “wrapping themselves in the flag” and looking for ways to do their part.
Singh said every dollar raised through sales of the bonds would go directly into domestic infrastructure projects to help boost the economy.
Under the NDP’s plan, such tax-free savings bonds would come in five and 10-year terms, would have a compounding interest rate of 3.5 per cent and would be made widely available through payroll deductions.
Both Canada and Mexico remain under threat of economywide duties Trump has linked to the flow of fentanyl across the borders.
In early March, Trump imposed — and then partially paused — those 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on Canada and Mexico, along with a lower 10 per cent levy on energy and potash.
Carney says Trump’s tariff regime will “fundamentally change the global trading system” and that Canada will fight American tariffs with countermeasures.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2025.
— With files from Kelly Geraldine Malone
The Canadian Press
