In the news today: Trump tariffs in effect, Bank of Canada to cut interest today?

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Trump tariffs on steel, aluminum kick in

The latest move in U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to realign global trade came into force Wednesday as all countries, including Canada, were hit with 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the United States.

The president’s executive order went into place at 12:01 a.m. ET. It removes the exceptions and exemptions from Trump’s 2018 tariffs on steel and aluminum, which eventually excluded Canada and other countries from the duties.

The latest levies came into force hours after the White House confirmed Trump would not follow through on Tuesday’s threats to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum after Ontario agreed to pause a surcharge on electricity exports to the U.S.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Ontario Premier Doug Ford spoke by phone Tuesday. Ford removed a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity exports to three U.S. states in return for the lowered duties on steel and aluminum.

How trade war hurts America’s ‘most Canadian town’

The tiny community of Point Roberts is a little bit of America, firmly fixed to British Columbia.

It’s the result of a cartographic quirk, occupying the southern tip of the otherwise-Canadian Tsawwassen peninsula that is surrounded by water, but dangles south of the 49th parallel.

The exclave gets water and electricity from Metro Vancouver, and sometimes Canadian firefighters come to the rescue.

The strange situation of the tiny Washington state community — solely attached to Canada but part of the United States — has some residents feeling caught between forces beyond their control, amid the spiralling trade war and rhetoric between the two countries.

Poll-Trump

A new poll suggests Canadians’ sense of national pride has surged in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats against the country’s sovereignty.

The poll, conducted by Leger Marketing for the Association for Canadian Studies, says the share of respondents expressing pride in being Canadian has jumped from 80 per cent to 86 per cent since November.

Pride is highest among people aged 55 and over, at 92 per cent.

Europe-Trump-Tariffs

The European Union on Wednesday announced retaliatory trade action after the Trump administration officially increased tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25%, with duties on industrial and agricultural products that will go into effect April 1.

The world’s biggest trading bloc was expecting the U.S. tariffs and prepared in advance, but the measures still place great strain on already tense transatlantic relations. Only last month, Washington warned Europe that it would have to take care of its own security in the future.

The EU measures will cover goods from the United States worth some 26 billion euros ($28 billion), and not just steel and aluminum products, but also textiles, home appliances and agricultural goods.

Britain — which is not part of the EU — meanwhile said it would not impose retaliatory measures of its own on the United States. The U.K. government called Washington’s decision to impose 25% tariffs on global steel and aluminum imports “disappointing.”

Canada will feel U.S. weather cuts: scientists

A meteorologist who made a life-saving call to a Newfoundland mayor urging him to evacuate residents from the path of post-tropical storm Fiona in 2022 says cuts to weather services in the United States could have impacts in hurricane-prone Atlantic Canada.

Eddie Sheerr is among a growing number of Canadian meteorologists and scientists sounding the alarm about sweeping cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made by the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency run by billionaire Elon Musk.

Sheerr, a meteorologist with NTV in St. John’s, N.L., said he uses NOAA’s data and modelling “literally every day.”

“They have some of the best hurricane forecasters and meteorologists in the world. I rely on that data and their expertise heavily when tracking these tropical systems, as do meteorologists throughout the country,” he said in a recent interview.

“They provide life-saving information. Period.”

Pandemic-era boost lives on for these companies

When the first spring of the COVID-19 pandemic neared, West Coast Seeds found itself scrambling to satisfy Canadians who had nowhere to go and little else to do than garden.

“We noticed a huge escalation in sales — and I’m not talking 20 per cent. I mean hundreds or thousands,” recalled Aaron Saks, president of the Delta, B.C.-based seed business.

“I don’t even know how to calculate how much growth we were seeing on our website, but it was to the point where our competitors … had to shut down their websites for the most part because they just couldn’t keep up with orders.”

To be able to handle skyrocketing demand, West Coast Seeds started to only accept orders during a four-hour window between Tuesday and Thursday. Almost 200 staff, including many new members, worked around the clock from outdoor wedding tents erected to help with social distancing measures and wound up fulfiling so many orders, they ran out of paper packets and had to source envelopes from Staples instead.

Bank of Canada expected to cut benchmark rate

The Bank of Canada is expected to announce an interest rate cut today as a cloud of uncertainty looms over the Canadian economy.

Economists polled by Reuters widely see the central bank lowering its key lending rate to 2.75 per cent, which would mark its seventh consecutive cut.

The decision comes as a trade war between Canada and the U.S. continues, dampening consumer and business confidence.

The trade spat puts the Bank of Canada in a difficult position as tariffs will likely result in a hit to economic growth, but it could also lead to a flare in inflation.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2025

The Canadian Press