Canada weighs response to Trump’s auto tariffs as Carney meets premiers

Canada is considering how to respond to the U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest round of tariffs set to hit the country’s auto sector next week.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is virtually meeting Canadian premiers at noon on Friday where they are expected to discuss retaliatory measures after Trump announced this week 25 per cent tariffs on imports of vehicles and auto parts.
Speaking to reporters in Ottawa Thursday, Carney said Canada “will respond forcefully,” adding that “nothing is off the table.”
Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday for 25 per cent tariffs on all foreign-made cars, light trucks and auto parts.
According to the order, U.S.-made parts in foreign-made vehicles will not be subject to the auto tariffs that are scheduled to go into effect on April 2 or an unspecified set of global “reciprocal” tariffs. Ottawa has not provided any specifics about what its countermeasures will be once those tariffs go into effect. However, Carney, in his capacity as caretaker prime minister, promised on Thursday to bring retaliatory measures, reduce internal trade barriers, and shift Canada’s economy The trade war has become a major campaign issue for all major federal parties in the general election, according to Carney, who stated that Trump contacted him on Wednesday evening to schedule a call. Carney also stated that he plans to speak with Trump in “the next day or two.” On April 28, Canadians will go to the polls. To focus on Canada’s response to Trump’s trade actions, Carney has had to suspend his campaign as leader of the Liberal Party. On Friday, Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre is campaigning in British Columbia, while NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is in Toronto. Poilievre has urged Trump to “knock it off” and “stop attacking America’s friends.”
Speaking at a campaign stop in Windsor, Ont., on Thursday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Trump’s tariffs feel like a “betrayal” and “a gut punch,” adding that Canada needs to fight back.