Canadian officials are anxiously waiting to see if U.S. President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to slap Canada with devastating tariffs Saturday.
Trump said Friday he is considering lowering tariffs on Canadian oil to 10 per cent after the White House confirmed he is going forward with 25 per cent levies on imports from Canada and Mexico.
Foreign Affairs Minister M茅lanie Joly said Friday night in Washington, D.C., that it was still not clear what would happen after TrumpB次元官网网址檚 latest comments.
B次元官网网址淲e have yet seen any form of clear decision-making and as well as any form of specific details coming from the White House,B次元官网网址� Joly said.
The president was vague about the details of his tariff plan as he responded to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. While answering an unrelated question, Trump also floated the idea of oil tariffs coming on Feb. 18. It was not clear if that statement was in relation to Canada.
The president travelled to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida Friday night and went to a golf course in West Palm Beach Saturday morning.
Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford said Saturday he is waiting to see what materializes. At an election campaign stop in Brampton, Ont., Ford said Trump was clear that he would move forward with B次元官网网址渞eckless tariffs.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭o President Trump I can only say this: this is not a smart move. ItB次元官网网址檚 selfish,B次元官网网址� Ford said. B次元官网网址淚t not only hurts Canadians, it hurts your own people.B次元官网网址�
Ford, who has used the tariff threat as a justification for his snap election call, reiterated his message for Canada to B次元官网网址渉it back strong.B次元官网网址�
Premiers have disagreed on how Canada should respond if Trump follows through on his threats.
Some say everything must be on the table, while Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe have said exports of oil and other resources like potash should not be included in retaliation plans.
The United States imported almost 4.6 million barrels of oil daily from Canada in October, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Moe and Smith said Friday that they were waiting to see what decision Trump ultimately makes.
B次元官网网址淲e would ask President TrumpB次元官网网址檚 administration to not put those tariffs on,B次元官网网址� Moe said Friday. B次元官网网址淎nd we would also ask our federal government to address the priorities that President Trump has raised.B次元官网网址�
The federal government has said it has multiple options for retaliatory tariffs ready to deploy, depending on what Trump ultimately does.
Trump didnB次元官网网址檛 implement the duties against Canada on his first day back in office, as heB次元官网网址檇 promised to do. But the president did not back away from his tariff threat and repeatedly suggested the duties would come on Feb. 1.
Joly, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty and Immigration Minister Marc Miller met with Republican officials, including TrumpB次元官网网址檚 border czar Tom Homan, in the United States capital throughout the week in a last-ditch attempt to avert the tariffs.
The ministers said they shared CanadaB次元官网网址檚 $1.3-billion border security plan, implemented to ease TrumpB次元官网网址檚 concerns. Miller said they also explained facts about the small volume of people and drugs illegally crossing the Canada-U.S. border.
The volume of drugs entering the United States from Canada is minuscule compared to the amounts coming from Mexico and China.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures show that officials seized 9,930 kilograms of fentanyl at American borders between October 2023 and September 2024. Only 20 kilograms of that amount came from Canada.
ItB次元官网网址檚 unlikely boosting the border would have made a difference to the president. Trump said Friday that there were no concessions that would stop Canada, Mexico or China from being hit with the levies.
B次元官网网址� with files from Aaron Sousa in Edmonton and The Associated Press
