Counter-tariffs imposed by Canada will be comparable to those imposed by the United States. Prime Minister Mark Carney stated on Thursday that President Donald Trump’s tariffs on automobiles are intended to encourage automakers to stay put while also promising additional assistance for auto workers. Carney stated that Canada would respond in the same manner as the United States by imposing 25% tariffs on all vehicles imported from the United States that do not comply with the CUSMA free trade agreement and 25% tariffs on the non-Canadian content of vehicles imported from the United States that comply with the agreement. “We must respond with both purpose and force. We are a free, sovereign, and ambitious country. He stated, “We are masters in our own home.” While campaigning as Liberal leader, Carney, who is currently prime minister in a caretaker government, stated that Canada was preparing a framework for automakers to receive relief from Canada’s counter-tariffs “as long as they maintain their production and investment in our country.” He predicted that Canada’s counter-tariffs would generate approximately $8 billion in revenue. In addition to the $2 billion strategic relief fund he has promised to establish if elected, he stated that the funds would be used to assist auto workers who lose their jobs and businesses that lose money. According to Carney, Trump’s announcement has disrupted the shared auto industry between Canada and the United States that was established over decades following the signing of the Auto Pact in 1965. “In the year that I was born, Canada and the United States of America signed the Auto Pact, which brought an end to auto tariffs and set the stage for a 60-year period of close cooperation, partnership, job growth, and prosperity between our nations. If the United States and Canada are unable to agree on a new comprehensive strategy, that era will end. Carney stated, “The specifics of Canada’s new economic and security relationship with the United States will be hammered out at a meeting with Trump by whoever becomes Canada’s prime minister following the federal election on April 28.” As President Trump and I agreed last week, he and the prime minister of Canada will sit down immediately following the election to find areas of common ground and agreement in a new economic and security partnership,” he said.
“Our old relationship of steadily deepening integration with the United States of America is over,” Carney stated. He continued, “The U.S. is still absolutely our ally,” however. According to Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party, Carney’s first phone call with Trump last week did not result in any progress in the trade war. “The fear of losing their jobs or savings gripped millions of Canadians as they awoke. During a press conference held on Thursday in Kingston, Ontario, Poilievre stated that tariffs must end. To counter the impact of the auto tariffs, Poilievre stated that the Conservatives would eliminate the federal sales tax on automobiles manufactured in Canada while making it a top priority to keep the industry moving and workers employed. Additionally, he urged the provinces to follow suit and eliminate their portion of the provincial sales tax on automobiles manufactured in Canada. “It’s clear that Canadians must stand together and I’m here to reassure Canadians that united we will get through this together,” Poilievre said.NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Ottawa should adopt a “Build Canadian, Buy Canadian” approach to navigating this trade war. He added that the NDP was proposing bringing in “victory bonds,” the kind Canada had during the Second World War.
He stated, “A victory bond would be a guaranteed investment in which you would purchase a bond, whether it be a five-year or a 10-year bond, and if you held it until it matured, you would get all the revenue tax-free.” According to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose province is likely to suffer the most from Trump’s auto tariffs, LCBO stores will not sell alcohol from the United States. A new round of U.S. tariffs hitting Canada’s auto sector is now in effect as President Donald Trump escalates his global trade war that has rattled markets and threatened industries across the world.
Automaker Stellantis also made the announcement that production at its Windsor, Ontario, facility would be stopped for two weeks. Please be advised that production will not take place between April 7, 2025, and April 14, 2025. According to a notice that Unifor Local 444 posted to social media on behalf of Stellantis and distributed to employees, “Production employees must not report to work unless directed by their supervisor.”
Canada will match Trump’s 25% auto tariffs, Carney says
