Trudeau, cabinet to face fresh questions about Trump’s major Canadian tariff threat

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of his cabinet are expected to face fresh questions today about Donald Trump vowing to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico on his first day in office, if border issues aren’t addressed.

According to a senior government source, Trudeau and Trump spoke on Monday night after the news broke.

The official described the conversation as “good,” and said on the call trade and border security were discussed, with Trudeau noting that the number of migrants who cross from Canada to the U.S. is far smaller than those who come through Mexico.

The two men vowed to stay in touch, the source said.

In a longer statement issued Monday night the chairs of the recently-revived Canada-U.S. relations cabinet committee, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, said that Canada “places the highest priority on border security and the integrity of our shared border.”

The pair also noted that Canada is “essential” to U.S. energy supply, saying last year 60 per cent of crude oil imports came from Canada, and touting work already underway to “disrupt the scourge of the fentanyl coming from China and other countries.”

Trudeau re-formed the special cabinet committee in response to Trump’s win and it has been meeting for a few weeks to navigate top issues as flagged by the incoming administration, such as trade and the border.

Ministers who make up this panel have also spoken about the need for a renewed “Team Canada” approach, in the face of what could be a fresh round of high-stakes trade talks, and the prospect of retaliatory tariffs, as seen during the Trump-sparked NAFTA renegotiation.

Trudeau and his front bench are meeting for their weekly closed-door cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill Tuesday morning and are set to be asked a series of questions from reporters about next steps as they arrive.

The looming tariff imposition is also likely to be a leading issue raised in question period later this afternoon.

What did Trump say last night?

Trump posted on social media platform Truth Social Monday night that as of Jan. 20, “as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders.”

The president-elect said the tariffs would stay, until the two border countries address what he called the “long simmering problem” of drugs and illegal immigrants crossing into the United States.

“We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!” Trump said.

This comes after Trump’s pick for border czar called the northern border “an extreme national security vulnerability,” and after the top Republican campaigned on the threat of a blanket 10 per cent or more import tariff.

Major economic impact concerns

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce had estimated based on the initial 10 per cent tariff prospect, that “if other countries retaliated with tariffs of their own, the ensuing trade war would result in roughly US$800 USD (C$1,100) in foregone income annually for people on both sides of the border.”

Author of that report University of Calgary economics professor Trevor Tombe posted on X Monday night that if Trump does impose a 25 per cent tariff next year, the Canadian economy could enter a recession.

Hours before Trump declared his intent to hit Canada with this sizeable trade action, Canada’s premiers penned a letter to the prime minister asking him to hold an urgent first ministers’ meeting before Trump re-takes office.

Reacting to the news, Quebec Premier Francois Legault, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith were among those warning of the major impacts such a move would have on sectors across the country, and calling on the federal government to make a plan fast.

With files from CTV News’ Vassy Kapelos, Brennan MacDonald, and Mike Le Couteur