Canada

OTTAWA—It’s a brief reprieve. But for Donald Trump’s doubters, or Canadians living in hope who thought he wouldn’t act on his tariff threat, the White House says forget that.

The U.S. president said Friday he will fulfil his threat to impose 25 per cent surcharges on Canadian and Mexican imports starting Feb. 1, in order to halt fentanyl and illegal immigrants at America’s northern and southern borders, and to correct what he calls unfair trade deficits.

However, Trump suggested there would be a staggered rollout, telling reporters he will target Canadian oil and gas shipments with a lower 10 per cent tariff rate, setting a later date for implementation of Feb. 18.

The front page of the Wednesday National Post featured a long essay by Jordan Peterson on what lousy friends Canadians have been to the Americans. Regular readers of the Western Standard will find little in the substance of his remarks that is new. His Laurentian readers will be shocked.

Canada and the United States share one of the world’s most extensive and intertwined trading relationships. In 2022, bilateral trade in goods and services exceeded $900 billion annually. Canada exported 75 percent of its goods to the United States. Beyond trade, bilateral investment is immense, with over $1 trillion in two-way direct investment (All amounts in Canadian dollars).

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says reporting indicating U.S. President Donald Trump intends to delay imposing tariffs on Canada until March 1 is “false.”

“I was just with the president in the Oval Office, and I can confirm that tomorrow, the Feb. 1 deadline that President Trump put into place… continues,” she said.

“The president will be implementing tomorrow a 25 per cent tariff on Mexico, 25 per cent tariffs on Canada, and a 10 per cent tariff on China for the illegal fentanyl that they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country which has killed tens of millions of Americans. These are promises made and promises kept by the president.”