U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose sweeping 25 per cent tariffs on most Canadian goods has prompted a swift response from Canada, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the country’s premiers both taking action.
Trudeau began the day by slapping counter-tariffs on $30 billion worth of American goods, promising $125 billion more in three weeks’ time, once Canadian companies have had the chance to adjust their supply chains.
And more non-tariff measures will be on the way if Trump doesn’t reverse course, Trudeau warned.
Canada’s premiers have also stepped into the fight, backing the federal government’s moves while either announcing their own complementary measures, or promising to do so in the coming days.
The premiers will be responding to the tariffs throughout the day and any new measures they announce will be added here. Meantime, here is a look at how Canada’s provinces are responding to the tariffs so far.
Ontario
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the LCBO sells nearly $1 billion worth of U.S. alcohol products, and that as of Tuesday, he has directed the corporation to pull all American products off its shelves.
“Starting today, all U.S. based companies will be banned from taking part in government procurement,” Ford said.
“U.S.-based businesses will now lose out on tens of billions of dollars in revenues; they only have President Trump to blame,” he added.
Ford also said he is “ripping up” Ontario’s nearly $100-million contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink — a deal that was supposed to provide high-speed internet access to 15,000 homes and businesses in rural, remote and northern communities.
“It’s done, it’s gone,” Ford said. “We won’t award contracts to people who enable and encourage economic attacks on our province and our country.”
The Ontario premier further said he is examining what legal steps he needs to take in order to put a 25 per cent export tax on the electricity Ontario sends to 1.5 million homes in Minnesota, Michigan and New York.
Ford said he will also direct electricity producers to shut down exports of energy completely, should Trump move forward with more tariffs.
Doug Ford says he’ll ‘spare no expense to protect Ontario workers,’ while highlighting a slew of retaliatory measures in response to sweeping tariffs imposed by Donald Trump.
And Ontario will look at stockpiling the nickel it now sells to the U.S. and sell it to other markets instead, Ford said.
“We also need to be ready to dig in for a long fight,” the premier said. “We need to be ready to escalate, using every tool in our tool kit; that includes surcharges or the outright restrictions on the critical minerals and electricity we supply to the United States.”
Ford said while he has no jurisdiction in other provinces, he will be encouraging Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to follow suit.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said his province will immediately limit access to provincial procurement for American businesses.
His province is also “seeking options to cancel existing contracts and reject outright bids until President Trump removes his unlawful tariffs,” Houston said in a statement.
Nova Scotia has also doubled the cost of tolls at the Cobequid Pass — a stretch of highway that connects Nova Scotia with New Brunswick — for U.S. commercial vehicles entering Canada.
The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation is also removing all U.S. alcohol from their shelves, Houston said.
Donald Trump is a short-sighted man who wields his power just for the sake of it, not having any consideration for the destructive impact of his decisions on both Canadians and Americans. It is impossible to properly describe the uncertainty and chaos that President Trump’s…
—@TimHoustonNS
Nova Scotia has further planned for a tariff contingency fund that can be used, as needed, to help soften the blow for those most impacted by the levies, the premier said.
“I can tell you that we worked hard to avoid a repeat of Trump’s tax,” Houston said in a statement. “We know tariffs are bad for people and businesses on both sides of the border.
“Unfortunately, some people need to touch the hot stove to learn, and while we cannot control or predict their behaviour, we can control how we respond,” he said.
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey has said he will remove all U.S. alcohol products from provincial store shelves and will move to stop all procurement from the U.S.
His government will also work to “identify new export markets” for the province’s exports, with a view to deepening trade connections with Europe and other countries around the world, Furey said.
“We will continue robust collaboration with industry, community and labour organizations through our roundtable on Canada-U.S. trade relations in light of the U.S. President’s illegal actions against us,” Furey said.
“We stand with Team Canada as we stand strong, together,” Furey said in a statement.
“Our identity, our values and our sovereignty will give us the strength to stand against any bully. We remain the true north strong and free.”
New Brunswick
Premier Susan Holt said Tuesday that her province has put a stop to the purchase of all U.S. products and has worked with other Atlantic provinces to find new export markets for lumber and fish.
“You’re not going to find Kentucky bourbon at NB Liquor stores, and you haven’t for about a month now,” Holt said Tuesday.
“We’ve put retaliatory tariffs on the things that New Brunswickers produce.… We don’t need to bring in American products to meet New Brunswickers demands,” she added.
From internal trade to the seafood sector, here’s how the provincial government is responding to the 25 per cent tariffs imposed Tuesday by U.S. President Donald Trump.
To help make that happen, the province said it is investing $40 million in the province’s “export intensive companies” in order to help them become more competitive as the province looks to find new markets outside of the U.S.
The response plan will also offer businesses hit by the Trump tariffs financial support in the form of “working capital loans” of up to $5 million to help maintain operations.
The province is also eliminating some exemptions it claims around Canada’s internal free trade agreement, to make it easier for Canadian provinces to do business with each other.
Alberta
Premier Danielle Smith released a statement Tuesday saying the tariffs are “an unjustifiable economic attack on Canadians and Albertans … that is both foolish and a failure in every regard.”
“Alberta fully supports the federal response announced today by the prime minister,” she said.
“I will be meeting with my cabinet today and tomorrow to discuss Alberta’s response to these illegal tariffs, which we will announce publicly tomorrow,” she added.
Smith said she will be working to remove provincial trade barriers and fast track the constructions of pipelines, LNG facilities and mines.
“We must strengthen our trade ties throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas for all our energy, agricultural and manufactured products,” she said.
“We also need to drastically increase military spending to ensure we can protect our nation. There is no time to waste on any of these initiatives.”
Manitoba
Premier Wab Kinew said his province is also taking all U.S. alcohol off the shelves of Manitoba Liquor Marts.
“Our government is launching tax deferrals for businesses affected by Trump’s tariff tax,” Kinew said in a post on X.
The move allows for the deferral of the province’s health and post-secondary levy, as well as the retail sales tax.
The deferral will remain in place for three months before the measure is reassessed, Kinew said.
