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OTTAWA — U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that he will impose 25 per cent tariffs on all aluminum and steel imports to the U.S., including those from Canada, on March 12.
Here’s the latest news (all times eastern):
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7:50 p.m.
Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland says Trump’s tariff threats are illegal, unjustified and “self-mutilating” for the U.S.
Freeland said during a CNN appearance that Canada is America’s largest market and that it has “economic leverage.”
Freeland says if she were prime minister, retaliation would include dollar-for-dollar tariffs.
She notes that she has also proposed a 100 per cent tariff on Teslas and that retaliation would target specific Trump constituencies and dairy farmers.
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6 p.m.
A White House official confirms that U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports would be stacked on top of other levies on Canadian goods, leading to a total 50 per cent tariff.
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5:30 p.m.
Quebec Premier François Legault held meetings Tuesday in Washington with business leaders, primarily in the aluminum, lumber and transportation sectors, and said he would meet U.S. officials on the following day.
The mission of his trip is to find “new pathways” for a renegotiated free-trade deal with the U.S. “as fast as possible.”
“It’s clear that Mr. Trump is not satisfied with the deal that we have between the United States and Canada,” Legault told reporters about the North American free-trade deal, which includes Mexico.
“I think what he’s looking for – and he’s said this often – is new manufacturing jobs in the U.S. But he has to make the right choices.”
A review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement isn’t due until 2026, but Legault says the uncertainly that Trump’s tariff threats are creating is bad for business. A deal that satisfies all three countries is the only way forward, he said.
But tariffing aluminum and lumber from Canada is “ridiculous,” Legault said, as the U.S. only produces 14 per cent of the aluminum it consumes, with 60 per cent coming from Quebec.
“It can’t be done. They don’t have the energy, and if they do, they’ll put it in data centres, in defence, in other sectors than aluminum. No one believes that Mr. Trump can replace the aluminum that Quebec sends.”
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1:45 p.m.
Legault says he’ll be meeting with U.S. businesspeople and lawmakers over the next two days in Washington D.C., hoping to send a message to U.S. President Donald Trump that finding common ground is a much better option than a costly tariff war.
Legault spoke today with reporters ahead of meetings with associations and companies in the forestry and aluminum sector.
When Trump says the U.S. doesn’t need Canadian products, it’s a falsehood and Legault says he wants to get that message to the president by speaking to those who have his ear.
Legault notes that the U.S. consumes 5.9 million tonnes annually and only produces about 800,000 tonnes.
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12:08 p.m.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance says any tariffs on steel and aluminum would heap pressure on the trucking industry, which is already dealing with a slowdown in the freight market.
“Canada’s trucking industry plays a critical role in the movement of steel and aluminum products, and the impact on many of these fleets would be fatal,” president Stephen Laskowski said in a news release.
He called for discussions with all levels of government on the development of relief packages or stimulus measures for the steel and aluminum supply chain.
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11:39 a.m.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the world is watching the trade dispute between Canada and the United States and that China is sitting back and laughing.
Speaking to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Ford says he has heard serious concerns about China from U.S. lawmakers about how China is hijacking global supply chains and that U.S. workers have had enough.
He says decoupling the U.S. economy from China will not be an easy task and it will require friends and allies like Canada and Ontario.
“I can tell you Canada is here to help,” Ford said.
“Working together, Canada and the U.S. can be the richest, most successful, safest, most secure two countries on the entire planet.”
Ford and all of the other provincial and territorial premiers are in Washington today on a joint mission to convince U.S. President Donald Trump to drop his tariff threats.
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9 a.m.
A report by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s business data lab says Saint John, N.B., Calgary and Windsor, Ont., are the Canadian cities most vulnerable to U.S. tariffs.
The report noted that key energy export centres were exposed as well as cities in southwestern Ontario where the province’s auto and manufacturing hubs are located.
It also pointed to Hamilton, a major producer of steel, and Saguenay and Trois-Rivières in Quebec where the province’s aluminum and forestry producers are located.
“President Trump’s proposed tariffs will have significant consequences for the global economy — but for some of Canada’s cities, the threat is far more local and personal,” said Stephen Tapp, the chamber’s chief economist.
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8:20 a.m.
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh issued a statement saying Canada cannot let the tariff threats go unanswered.
Singh is calling for Ottawa to respond with dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs and changes to procurement so Canada buys Canadian-made steel and aluminum for Canadian construction and manufacturing.
He is also seeking a 100 per cent tariff on Elon Musk’s Teslas coming into the country.
“Donald Trump has unleashed a trade war on Canada and our workers. We can’t let it go unanswered, and we can’t let working Canadians pay the price for Trump’s attack,” Singh said.
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7 a.m.
The Aluminium Association of Canada says U.S. tariffs will hurt U.S. jobs and U.S. industries, including defence, automotive, construction and housing.
Association chief executive Jean Simard says a tariff will only drive prices higher – hurting Americans in their pocketbooks and undermining the agenda the U.S. government says it wants to achieve.
The association says Canadian aluminum workers produce the metal that is processed, transformed and fabricated into parts, components, and everyday products by more than 700,000 U.S. manufacturing workers.
It says imposing tariffs will only raise costs for U.S. consumers and businesses in the middle of inflation reduction efforts.
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5 a.m.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ottawa will work to convince the U.S. that President Donald Trump’s promised tariffs will hurt both countries.
A senior government official says Trudeau spoke with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance about the impact steel tariffs would have in Ohio, which Vance previously represented in the U.S. Senate.
Trudeau and Vance are both in Paris for a global summit on AI.
Trudeau briefly spoke to reporters before attending a plenary at the summit where Vance spoke.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2025.
The Canadian Press
