Carney suspends campaign to hold tariff meetings; Democrats want vote on Trump’s levies against Canada

8:35 p.m. Carney suspending campaign to hold tariff meetings 

Liberal Leader Mark Carney is pausing his federal election campaign and returning to Ottawa for meetings as prime minister ahead of Wednesday’s announcement on U.S. tariffs.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to hit multiple countries with “reciprocal” tariffs.

The Carney campaign said no details about the meetings are available yet.

Carney has said Canadians are facing the “biggest crisis of our lifetimes” as Trump tries to reshape the U.S. economy and weaken Canada.

Along with the expected “reciprocal tariffs,” it’s not clear if Trump’s temporary pause on separate economywide duties on Canada and Mexico will end tomorrow.

Trump said in early March that the pause would last until April 2.

Read the full story from the Canadian Press

5:28 p.m. NDP calls on Carney to consult with Opposition leaders 

NDP campaign director Jennifer Howard said although the incumbent federal government has power to act — even in “caretaker” mode during an election campaign — the prime minister should consult the Opposition leaders when he responds to Trump’s tariffs.

“I think personally it would be a great signal to the country, for the Prime Minister to bring the leaders together,” she said in an interview.

Political rivals may have different views on “how we help Canadians get through this time domestically,” but Howard pointed out that the main party leaders all agree Canada should retaliate and “not back down.”

It would show that “we disagree on many things, but we are not a divided nation in the way that America is a divided nation,” she said.

“Who knows how any of this plays out in Trump world,” said Howard.

Nevertheless, bringing together Canadian federal leaders mid-campaign would “send a message to Canadians that even in an election, the leaders of the party can come together for the country.

“But I think you also want to send a message to Donald Trump that this is not a moment of weakness because we’re in an election period. This is a moment of strength, for our politics are not the same as their politics.”

“There’s a tremendous amount of consensus and unity among Canadians in the need to fight this threat.”

5:09 p.m. Canada-Mexico call not a ‘separate agreement’ on trade

The phone call between Carney and the Mexican president was their first since the Liberal leader replaced Justin Trudeau and became prime minister. They spoke in the mid-to-late morning, according to the prime minister’s office.

Since taking office more than two weeks ago, Carney has spoken of the need to negotiate a new “comprehensive economic and security agreement” with the United States.

But the call with Sheinbaum was not specifically to kickstart any new negotiations with Mexico, nor to coordinate their retaliatory responses, although the leaders did share information, said PMO spokesperson Emily Williams.

“We still value moving forward trilaterally,” she said. “What that exactly looks like will have to be determined, but no, it’s not a separate agreement or move bilaterally with Mexico.

She said the two leaders shared “information and (are) keeping lines of communication open.”

Canada, like other countries, is waiting to see what tariffs the U.S. will impose, and Williams said, “The design of the response will happen once we know what we are responding to.”

Williams said Carney and Sheinbaum did not discuss Ottawa’s re-imposition last year of visas on Mexican nationals travelling to Canada.

But the two leaders share a desire to see companies do more business in the other’s country.

4 p.m. Canada waits to see details of tariffs

During Donald Trump’s first term, there was no heads-up when steel and aluminum tariffs landed. Quite the opposite. When the first Trump administration slapped 25 and 10 per cent tariffs respectively on steel and aluminum, using a little known provision under s. 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, it sent Canadian officials then leading the NAFTA renegotiation talks scrambling to figure out what it even was.

Since Trump’s second term has begun, a similar kind of hustle to figure out what the president is referencing has occurred with each new tariff threat of his issued via Truth Social post or press gaggle commentary. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has provided a bit of heads-up on a couple of occasions as to moves the White House was about to make, but largely Canadian officials have had to wait to see the executive orders to figure out exactly what tariffs on what products Trump is targeting.

3:55 p.m. Ford on U.S. network to talk tariffs

Premier Doug Ford will be on Meet The Press on MSNBC at 4:15 p.m. today to talk to Americans “about how tariffs are making life more expensive and putting millions of jobs at risk.”

3:51 p.m. Carney meets with Manitoba premier

Mark Carney, the Liberal leader, is in Winnipeg meeting with Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew at this hour, after speaking with Mexico’s president. Kinew flagged that he thinks there’s a lot to work together on, including critical minerals and manufacturing.

At this time, late afternoon, Canadian government sources have told the Star they do not have any heads-up or clarity from the U.S. administration as to what level of tariffs Canada might expect tomorrow.

3:37 p.m. Canada Mexico talk about trade relationship

The prime minister’s office released a short statement with a readout of a call Mark Carney had with the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum today.

It said the two leaders agreed to stay in close touch, and that their senior teams of ministers and officials would “continue to work together to advance shared priorities.”

It also signaled Carney broached his desire to work more closely with Mexico to increase trade ties.

The readout called it a “productive call” in which Carney and Sheinbaum discussed “the importance of building upon the strong trading and investment relationship between the two countries.”

“With challenging times ahead,” Carney and Sheinbaum “emphasized the importance of safeguarding North American competitiveness while respecting the sovereignty of each nation,” according to the Canadian side.

Carney discussed Canada’s plan to “fight unjustified trade actions against Canada” and to “build Canada’s economy, including through increased trade between Canada and Mexico.”

2:42 p.m. Democrats want vote on Canada tariffs

Democrats in the U.S. Senate are moving forward on a resolution to block sweeping tariffs targeting Canada as President Donald Trump presses Republican lawmakers to continue backing his trade agenda.

Sen. Tim Kaine plans to force a vote on Trump’s use of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, also called IEEPA, to declare an emergency over fentanyl trafficking to hit Canada with devastating duties.

“The president has justified the imposition of these tariffs on, in my view, a made-up emergency,” Kaine said Tuesday.

Read more from the Canadian Press

1:45 p.m. No batteries? Thinner packaging? US businesses look for ways to offset tariffs

NEW YORK(AP)—Gadgets sold without batteries. Toys sold in slimmed-down boxes or no packaging at all. More household goods that shoppers need to assemble themselves.

These are some of the ways consumer product companies are retooling their wares to reduce costs and avoid raising prices as President Donald Trump levies new import taxes on key trading partners as well as some materials used by American manufacturers.

The economic environment in which the president has imposed, threatened and occasionally postponed repeated rounds of tariffs is more precarious than during his first term. U.S. consumers are feeling tapped out after several years of inflation. Businesses say tariffs add to their expenses and eat into their profits, but they are wary of losing sales if they try to pass all of the increase on to customers.

Instead, some companies are exploring cost-cutting options, both ones that consumers likely would notice in time — remember “shrinkflation?” — and ones that exist too far down the supply chain for them to see. The changes may help minimize price increases yet won’t be enough in every case to offset them completely.

Read more from the Associated Press

(Updated) 12:36 p.m. No clarity on ‘fentanyl tariffs’

Asked if Trump would extend the delay on the so-called “fentanyl tariffs” (the 25 per cent across-the-board tariff on Canadian products with 10 per cent levy on oil, gas and potash) that are to expire tomorrow at the same time as Trump’s other tariff threats are unveiled, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt says only that fentanyl “certainly caused a national security crisis here in the United States. Fentanyl continues to be the number one killer of young people in this country.” But she said it’s up to Trump to unveil tariff plan, and does not hint at any further delay or cancellation of that threat.

The White House briefing is over. Leavitt said “there are quite a few countries” like Canada who are talking to the president’s team to escape tariffs “but there’s one country the president cares most about, and it’s the United States of America.”

12:19 p.m. Singh wants to ban U.S. companies from buying Canadian health facilities

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is calling for a ban on American corporations buying Canadian health care facilities and says health care and drug regulations should not be put on the negotiating table during any talks with Trump.

It’s part of Singh’s critique of health care privatization in Canada that he has referred to as an “Americanization” of those systems.

During a news conference in Edmonton on Tuesday, Singh decried Trump’s criticism during his previous term in office against how Canada — and other countries — sets their drug prices.

“And so it is clear to me that he’s not going to stop there. He’s not going to stop at medication. He’s going to come after our public health care system, because there’s profit to be made,” Singh said.

12:15 p.m. Trump focused ‘on fixing the wrongs of the past’ with tariffs, White House says

During a White House briefing, spokesperson Karoline Leavitt is looking ahead to April 2 release of Trump’s overall reciprocal tariff plan, repeating Administration talking points, saying “The president’s historic action tomorrow will improve American competitiveness in every area of industry, reduce our massive trade deficit and ultimately protect our economic and national security.

“It’s simple if you make your products in America, you will pay no tariffs,” she said.

Asked if there is any way a country can avoid tariffs by promising today some future action to appease Trump, Leavitt said, “The president is always up for a good negotiation but he very much focused on fixing the wrongs of the past.”

Leavitt refused to comment on reports that Trump would impose a 20 per cent flat rate tariff, saying “he is with his trade and tariff team right now, perfecting it to make sure this is a perfect deal for the American people and the American worker. And you will all find out in about 24 hours from now.”

Leavitt confirms the tariffs would go into effect on April 3.

The White House press secretary says Trump takes the concerns of seniors about the impact of markets on their fixed incomes, but he’s focused on protecting the “future generations of the senor citizens … it’s for their kids and their grandkids to ensure that there are jobs here in the United States.” And she says Trump and his team are “not going to be wrong.”

“It is going to work. And the president has a brilliant team of advisors who have been studying these issues for decades.”

11:25 a.m. Canada’s counter-measures

Here’s a reminder about where Canada is at on its counter-measures:

• To match Trump’s 25 per cent “border-related” tariffs on all Canadian products (the first threat, delayed until April 2) with dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs would necessitate countermeasures on some $600 billion worth of American imports, according to federal finance officials. Carney has said Canada could not go up to that level, saying there is a “limit” on how much the economy can absorb.
• So far, the Liberal government has imposed the first phase of its planned counter-tariff package against $155 billion worth of American imports, slapping retaliatory levies on about $30 billion worth of American products, and approving another set of levies on another $30 billion worth of U.S. goods tomorrow. So far, the counter-tariffs hit certain food products, wine, spirits, beer, coffee, appliances, apparel, footwear, motorcycles, cosmetics, tools, computers and servers, display monitors, sport equipment and cast iron products.
• Ottawa is holding off on measures against another $65 billion worth to see what April 2 brings from the White House.
• Officials have told the Star that a target list of $155 billion in American goods is not the ceiling but the government has not released a broader list.
• Carney has also not specified what nontariff countermeasures he is prepared to take, only hinting at limits on American suppliers for defence or other government purchasing contracts.
• He has not ruled out using export tariffs on Canadian commodities like oil, gas or potash as leverage against the U.S. in a trade war.
• Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has called for “dollar-for-dollar” counter tariffs, and has not specified whether he opposes export tariffs on Canadian energy or other resources, since dodging a direct question in January.

11:18 a.m. French labelling described as a barrier to trade

Asked about the USTR report this morning that indicates the bilingual labelling requirement can be seen as an unfair trade barrier on U.S. goods, Carney said that for him in trade negotiations, “French language, culture, and supply management will never be on the table.”

11:20 a.m. Carney says Canada prepared to retaliate if Trump tariffs go ahead Wednesday

In Winnipeg, Liberal leader Mark Carney is asked if he has any new information on what the U.S. tariff level on Canada will be, given reports in the U.S. it could be around 20 per cent, but he does not answer directly. “We’ll be looking with interest tomorrow.” And Carney reiterates that he told President Trump last week that Canada would impose its next phase of counter-measures tomorrow if Trump’s tariff threats go ahead. He repeats what he said last week, that Trump agreed that after the election Canada and U.S. would sit down for comprehensive talks on an “economic and security” agreement.

Carney is asked again about whether Ottawa would use its initial list for counter-measures on about $155 billion worth of U.S. goods, given his promise that the counter-measures would have maximum impact on America and minimal impact on Canadians. But Carney did not reveal any new details about what his next steps will be, only to say that he will not disadvantage Canadian companies vis-a-vis their American competitors.

11:07 a.m. 20,000 jobs on the line if auto industry shutdown lasts a full quarter

A new report from Oxford Economics released Tuesday said that if a shutdown of the North American automotive industry lasts for a full quarter, it would cost the Canadian auto sector $4.4 billion in production, and 20,000 jobs. The economic ripple effects would shrink the size of the Canadian economy by $13 billion, and cost another 36,000 jobs. Industry leaders and analysts have said the highly integrated nature of the North American auto sector means a shutdown could come within a week of tariffs being imposed.

Make a deal — or punch back like Canada? Why the world is split on how to respond to Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs

World leaders are increasingly divided into two camps.

There are those, like Canada, who are bracing for a long and bruising trade war. And there are others making concessions, or convinced they can negotiate their country’s way clear of tariffs, the economic punishment Trump is inflicting to overhaul trading relationships and lure businesses and jobs to the U.S.

Canada has served as a near-solitary soldier on the front lines of the looming global trade war for weeks now, an example for all the world to see.

Read the full story from the Star’s Allan Woods

Trump tariffs timeline: Tracking Donald Trump’s tariff threats to Canada and Canada’s responses

U.S. President Donald Trump has made a range of tariff announcements targeting Canada since taking office earlier this year. Here’s a timeline of the trade war so far.

Follow the timeline

White House says ‘no exemptions’ as Canada braces for new wave of U.S. tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday provided few details of his plan this week to upend global trade through “reciprocal” tariffs as the White House confirmed there’s been no decision on whether a pause on economy-wide duties against Canada will be lifted.

Trump called Wednesday “Liberation Day” — the day when he intends to impose “reciprocal” tariffs by increasing U.S. duties to match the tax rates that other countries charge on imports.

“We are going to be very nice by comparison to what they were. The numbers will be lower than what they have been charging us,” Trump said in the Oval Office where he signed an unrelated executive order flanked by musician Kid Rock.

Read the full story from the Canadian Press

Key dates to watch this week for Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods

Uncertainty still looms for Canada in what’s set to be a monumental week for U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff plan. With multiple categories of American import taxes set to take effect, some Canadian industries are waiting to find out if and how they might be affected.

Here’s a rundown from the Canadian Press on what to watch for this week.

Party leaders see future of Canada-U.S. relations through different prisms on campaign trail

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says the Canada-U.S. relationship can be salvaged, while Liberal Leader Mark Carney says it’s basically “over” and time to seek allies elsewhere.

That’s the key difference in the approach of the two major party leaders toward how they propose to deal with U.S. President Donald Trump and his short- and long-term threats to Canada’s economy and independence.

Carney says if Trump can be persuaded to reach a new comprehensive economic and security agreement with Canada, he is willing to negotiate with the U.S., but his sights are already on Europe.

Poilievre says if Trump cannot be persuaded to drop threatened tariffs, he too is keen to find other dance partners.

All major party leaders in Canada call Trump’s tariffs “unjustified.” But their language on the campaign trail reflects that they see the future through different prisms.