U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war cut into new territory just after midnight as planned 25 per cent import levies on steel and aluminum solidified against all countries, including Canada.
Here are the latest updates:
10:41 a.m. EDT: Ontario to put new U.S. ad blitz on hold
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says that a new U.S. advertising blitz that the province had planned on launching will be “put on hold in good faith” while talks aimed at bringing an end to the trade war take place.
“We have to go and negotiate properly and sit down at the table,” Ford said of his trip to Washington on Thursday to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Chris Fox, managing digital producer
10:31 a.m. EDT: No renegotiation of CUSMA
The ministers have said repeatedly that they will not renegotiate CUSMA, the North American free trade agreement hammered out during Trump’s first term, at their meeting in Washington tomorrow.
Instead, the ministers will work to “find off ramps,” Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly explained.
Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said, despite Canada’s dollar-for-dollar countermeasures announced today, they are looking to deescalate as soon as possible.
“If you’re racing to the basement, there’s no real prize for the first person to get to the basement,” he said.
Luca Caruso-Moro, digital breaking news assignment editor
10:20 a.m. EDT: Tariffs a ‘national security’ issue: Champagne
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says uncertainty surrounding North American trade relationships undermines both countries’ economic security, “and ultimately, our national security.”
He is part of a delegation of ministers heading to Washington tomorrow.
Speaking in French, Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said their meeting with U.S. counterparts will deal with “the urgency of lowering the temperature” on the trade war.
Luca Caruso-Moro, digital breaking news assignment editor
10:14 a.m. EDT: Lutnick: Nothing will stop U.S. metals tariffs
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said nothing would stop Trump’s expanded 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum until U.S. domestic production is strengthened, and that Trump will add copper to his trade protections.
Lutnick also told Fox Business Network that a meeting he plans to hold with Ontario Premier Doug Ford will seek to “lower the temperature” between the U.S. and Canada.
However, Lutnick said he will wait for Mark Carney to be fully installed as prime minister before negotiating on trade at a national level.
“So I think it’s just to level-set things, make sure we know each other, and then we’re going to negotiate with all of Canada,” Lutnick said on the meeting with Ford.
Reuters
10:10 a.m. EDT: We will not give in’: Joly
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly is now talking about Trump’s repeated calls to annex Canada.
“We will not back down, and we will not give in to this coercion,” she said in Ottawa, flanked by high-ranking cabinet members.
“We have done nothing to justify Trump’s attacks on our country,” she said in French, speaking of the tariffs. “We will do everything in response.”
She pledged to bring up the trade war during all of her upcoming G7 meetings in Quebec.
Luca Caruso-Moro, digital breaking news assignment editor
10 a.m. EDT: Canada hits back at Trump’s tariffs
Canada, following a dollar-for-dollar approach, is levelling retaliatory reciprocal tariffs on the United States, worth $29.8 billion.
This trade move comes in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports coming into effect today.
The package of countermeasures is being outlined by a trio of cabinet ministers on Parliament Hill.
Rachel Aiello, CTV News national correspondent
9:48 a.m. EDT: Bank of Canada cuts rate amid ‘new crisis’ of trade war with the U.S.
The Bank of Canada has cut its policy rate by 25 basis point to 2.75 per cent as a new front is opened in the trade war between the United States and Canada.
Overnight, the U.S. began putting 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum products coming from Canada. Last year, exports of those metals accounted for nearly $40 billion dollars in sales for businesses in Canada.
Further protectionist measures are expected on April 2, when U.S. President Donald Trump announces global reciprocal tariffs which are expected to impact a broad swath of industry from automobiles to agriculture.
While announcing the rate cut, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem warned Canada is “facing a new crisis,” and that the central bank “cannot offset the impacts of a trade war.”
”Depending on the extent and duration of new U.S. tariffs, the economic impact could be severe.” Macklem said that the “pervasive uncertainty” has already shaken business and consumer confidence.
Macklem pointed out that inflation remains close to the bank’s two per cent target and that the Canadian economy had actually grown by 2.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024.
But, those gains could be derailed by uncertainty.
Judy Trinh, CTV News national correspondent
9:40 a.m. EDT: U.K. says retaliation on steel, aluminum tariffs possible
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed disappointment Wednesday over the Trump administration’s decision to impose tariffs on global steel and aluminum imports, and said a retaliatory response was possible.
During his weekly questioning in the House of Commons, Starmer said his government was taking a “pragmatic approach” but ”we will keep all options on the table.”
Starmer, leader of the centre-left Labour Party, said negotiations with the Trump administration over a bilateral trade deal were ongoing.
The Associated Press
9:18 a.m. EDT: Rubio says G7 won’t discuss U.S. ‘take over’ of Canada
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday said Trump’s threats to “take over Canada” will not be discussed at a G7 foreign ministers' gathering in Quebec on Thursday.
When asked by reporters about Trump’s comments on making Canada the 51st U.S. state, Rubio said Washington is prioritizing other topics.
“We defend North America through Norad and the airspace of our continent together, so not to mention the issues of Ukraine and other commonalities. So we’re going to be focused in the G7 on all of those things,” he said.
“That’s what the meeting is about. It is not a meeting about how we’re going to take over Canada.”
Luca Caruso-Moro, with files from Reuters
9:05 a.m. EDT: Official tells Reuters: Canada response tariffs amount to $29.8 billion
Canada will announce $29.8 billion in retaliatory tariffs on the United States on Wednesday in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs, a Canadian official said.
The official declined to be named.
Trump’s increased tariffs on steel and aluminum imports took effect on Wednesday as prior exemptions, duty free quotas and product exclusions expired, and as his campaign to reorder global trade norms in favor of the U.S. gains momentum.
Canada is the biggest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States.
Reuters
8:50 a.m. EDT: Trump ‘knowingly inflicting damage’: Unifor
Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union with members in various affected industries, warns the tariffs will have devastating effects to jobs on both sides of the border.
“Trump is knowingly inflicting damage to the North American manufacturing sector with these inflationary tariffs that will injure workers, eliminate jobs, and hurt consumers,” Unifor national president Lana Payne in a statement circulated to media.
Luca Caruso-Moro, digital breaking news assignment editor
8:30 a.m. EDT: Canada’s response coming, Reuters reports $29.8-billion package
At 9:45 a.m. EDT, high-ranking cabinet members are expected to reveal details on Canada’s response to Trump’s tariffs.
Reuters is reporting Canada will announce $29.8 billion in retaliatory tariffs today, citing an unnamed government source.
Minister of Finance Dominic LeBlanc, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne are set to appear at the news conference. CTVNews.ca will provide live coverage here.
Luca Caruso-Moro, digital breaking news assignment editor