Trudeau tells Trump tariffs are ‘very dumb thing to do’

Justin Trudeau says Canada “will not back down” in a trade war with the United States that formally began on Tuesday.

The prime minister addressed the nation on Tuesday morning following the United States’ decision to impose 25-percent tariffs on almost all Canadian goods, except lower 10-percent rates for some energy products.

Trudeau’s government has pledged tens of billions of dollars in retaliatory tariffs, some of which are already in effect. Others are due to come into force in several weeks’ time.

Setting out the US embrace of Russia and contrasting that with its approach to Canada, Trudeau said: “Make that make sense.”

“Canadians are reasonable, and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight. Not when our country and the well-being of everyone in it is at stake,” he said.

“There is absolutely no justification or need whatsoever for these tariffs today.”

Trudeau warned Canadians: “This is going to be tough.” He said the federal government would use “every tool at our disposal” to help people.

The effect of tariffs on the Northwest Territories is expected to be largely indirect, given the NWT’s lack of land border with the US and limited direct trade. Even so, economists say many people in both countries will be left poorer by a trade war and the impact of tariffs will soon be felt by northerners.

Trudeau told US residents: “Your government has chosen to do this to you.”

Trudeau addresses Trump

US President Donald Trump has said the tariffs are a response to a Canadian inability to fully crack down on the movement of people and drugs across the border from Canada to the States. In reality, data tracked by both nations suggests there is little basis in fact for Trump’s assertions.

Canada’s prime minister called Trump’s stated rationale “completely bogus.”

“Our border is already safe and secure,” said Trudeau. He said a $1.3-billion border plan launched in recent weeks – featuring drones, helicopters and more personnel, followed by the creation of a “fentanyl czar” – had been working.

“We stepped up. We engaged closely and constructively with the president and his administration. We did everything we promised. We stuck to our word. And we did it because we believe in working together to protect our citizens,” the prime minister said.

Addressing Trump directly, Trudeau added: “In the over eight years you and I have worked together, we’ve done big things. We’ve signed a historical deal that has created record jobs and growth in both of our countries. We’ve done big things on the world stage … and now, we should be working together to ensure even greater prosperity for North Americans in a very uncertain and challenging world.

“It’s not in my habit to agree with The Wall Street Journal but Donald, they point out that even though you’re a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do.

“We two friends fighting is exactly what our opponents around the world want to see.”

Trudeau said Trump clearly wanted to damage the Canadian economy and ultimately annex the country.

“First of all, that’s never going to happen. We will never be the 51st state. But yeah, he can do damage to the Canadian economy, and he’s started this morning,” the prime minister said.

“But he is rapidly going to find out, as American families are going to find out, that that’s going to hurt people on both sides of the border.”

At a separate news conference, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he would institute sweeping tax cuts if elected prime minister, prioritizing investment, new homes and the energy sector.

Poilievre said Canada’s retaliatory tariffs should focus on goods Canada can produce domestically or import from anywhere other than the US.

He urged Canada to focus on major infrastructure projects like pipelines, while also using his Tuesday news conference to put distance between himself and Trump.

“It is true,” said Poilievre, asked about Trump’s assertion that he is “not a Maga guy.”

Provinces, territories, countries react

Canadian provinces have spent Tuesday morning announcing so-called “non-tariff measures” of their own, more of which are expected to follow.

Ontario, for example, will move to launch a 25-percent export tax on electricity it sends to 1.5 million homes in Minnesota, Michigan and New York if tariffs persist, Premier Doug Ford said on Tuesday.

Other actions being taken by provinces include a return to the removal of US-produced alcohol from liquor stores. The NWT government, which had announced that measure when tariffs were first threatened earlier this year, is expected to do the same. The territory has also said it will look to minimize procurement involving US firms.

Stock markets around the world opened lower on Tuesday, a sign of widespread investor concern over the actions of the Trump administration and retaliations issued by both Canada and China.

China, which is being hit by a second round of 10-percent tariffs, has announced countermeasures of its own, largely targeting the US agricultural sector.

Mexico, which is also the subject of 25-percent tariffs, has said it will reveal its response on Sunday if US tariffs remain in place by then.

NWT wants help to drive northern mining

Multiple GNWT and Indigenous leaders are at Toronto’s PDAC mining and exploration convention this week. Critical minerals, which appear to be a significant motivating factor behind many of Trump’s foreign policy actions, are at the heart of that convention.

As provinces and territories look for means of propping up their economies with a trade war beginning, NWT industry minister Caitlin Cleveland called on Tuesday for the federal government to create a “North of 60 Mineral Exploration Tax Credit” to make exploration in the North easier.

Cleveland said that kind of tax credit would be “designed to recognize the higher costs of exploration in the territories, level the playing field, and attract the investment necessary to develop our vast mineral resources.”

The three territories have called for such a credit for years, though one has yet to materialize.

The federal government has, however, extended a different program – the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit – for two more years.

Cleveland said a dedicated northern tax credit would recognize high exploration costs in the North, but also the extensive resources available for Canada to tap if it is looking for new economic drivers.

“Exploration costs in the North can be up to six times higher than in southern Canada, yet our territories hold some of the most promising untapped deposits of the minerals needed for clean energy, advanced technology, and national security,” Cleveland stated.

“Without the right incentives, these resources risk remaining undeveloped, and Canada could fall behind in securing stable, domestic supply chains.

“A North of 60 Mineral Exploration Tax Credit would solidify Canada’s position in the global critical minerals race, attract investment to some of the most resource-rich regions in the country, and create new opportunities for northerners.”

‘Strategic leverage’

Other territorial politicians appeared to line up behind the broader message of using the North and mining to unlock significant new sources of Canadian revenue.

In the NWT legislature on Monday, Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart said the territory needed to pivot “towards a new economic strategy” as tariffs come into effect.

“While northerners have felt left out of the great national debates in the past, on the topic of Canada’s economic future, we find ourselves front and centre because we have the critical resources the world needs,” Testart said.

“These vast deposits of critical minerals will, once developed, grant Canada resource sovereignty needed for self-sufficiency and open the door to new markets around the world. Most importantly, they will provide us with the strategic leverage required to negotiate better trade terms with the United States.”

Testart said issues like the time taken to navigate the NWT’s regulatory system and lacking northern infrastructure needed to be speedily addressed.

“These challenges are not insurmountable. We just need to find the political will,” he said. “The only question now is: are we ready to take the lead to keep Canada’s North true and strong and free? Or will we let the moment slip by as many mines lay dormant for the foreseeable future?”