Trudeau says Canada 'won't back down' as Trump ups tariff threat

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada “won’t back down” from President Trump’s threat to impose a 25 percent tariff and that Ottawa will respond accordingly until they are removed.

“We're showing the new American administration that they have a strong partner in Canada when it comes to upholding border security, all while simultaneously underscoring that we won't back down, that if tariffs are implemented against Canada, we will respond,” Trudeau said Friday while addressing the advisory council on Canada-U.S. relations.

“We won't relent until tariffs are removed and, of course, everything is on the table,” he added.

Trump has once again brought up his intention to slap a 25 percent tariff on Mexico and Canada, something he first threatened in late November of last year following the 2024 presidential election.

“Look, Mexico and Canada have never been good to us on trade,” Trump said Thursday.

“They’ve treated us very unfairly on trade, and we will be able to make that up very quickly because we don’t need the products that they have,” he added while also citing fentanyl coming into the U.S. and migrants crossing over the southern border.

After Trump initially said he was looking to slap a 25 percent tariff on Canada, Trudeau met with the then-president-elect in late November, with the meeting being characterized as “productive.” Trump has since taken jabs at Trudeau, even suggesting that Canada should be the 51st U.S. state.

The Canadian prime minister announced his resignation earlier this month amid the tension with Trump and his party's faltering polling numbers ahead of the country’s general elections later this year.

Canada, along with Mexico, is one of the biggest U.S. trading partners. Experts have said that imposing tariffs on both countries could hurt American consumers when purchasing some goods, but long-term damage might be inflicted on both economies if the trade war extends further.

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