Trump threatens new 50% tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks and steel

Canada-U.S. trade: Carney takes questions after Trump threatens new tariffs

U.S. Vice-President JD Vance spoke at a manufacturing facility in Brewer, Maine, at the same time Carney spoke in Lévis.

"Canada and China have been the two worst countries when it comes to trade policy anywhere in the world. What a shame that is. China, you of course expect; they're our big economic competitor. I would expect that from China," he said.

"I would not expect that from Canada. We have to remember, Canada is a state — sorry. Freudian slip," he said, before pausing to laugh. "That was actually an accident."

He blamed Canada for talks falling apart last week, but also said trade negotiations are continuing.

"What happened at the very end is they came in with a bunch of unreasonable, last-minute demands. I frankly thought we had a deal. I think that we should have a deal, but I think that we need to send a message loud and clear to the prime minister of Canada: Stop taking advantage of the people of Maine. Stop taking advantage of America," Vance said.

"It's over. We expect fairness in our trade policy."

Carney suspended discussions with the U.S. on Friday, but Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc's office has confirmed he "keeps an open channel of communication with all of his counterparts related to his responsibilities."

Carney has now moved on to the announcement du jour: The federal government is spending more than $11 billion to build six new icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard, in partnership with Davie.

Carney said the heavy and medium icebreakers will patrol the St. Lawrence, the Atlantic and the Arctic.

Carney is speaking right now in Lévis, Que., starting with how trade talks with the U.S. fell apart. His remarks so far are fairly similar to what he said on Saturday.

"The goal of our trade negotiations with the United States has always been to get the best deal for Canadians, never a deal at any price or on any time frame," he said.

"And we could not accept what the U.S. had offered, nor could we give what they had asked."

"At some point you have to have to say enough is enough," Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne told reporters Monday, referring to the latest escalation in the Canada-U.S. trade saga.

Champagne, who is in Montreal for pre-federal budget consultations, also hinted that support is on the way for businesses impacted by Trump's 50 per cent tariffs.

He also spoke about ongoing work to retool the Canadian economy and make it more resilient to Trump's protectionist trade agenda.

"Plan A has always been to build a strong Canadian economy, to remove interprovincial trade barriers, to diversify our economy and to do big things in our country," Champagne said.

The minister added that he will be meeting with provincial and territorial finance ministers this afternoon.

It's worth noting that Trump didn't offer specifics when he included steel in his list of products to be tariffed at 50 per cent starting Jan. 1, 2027. Canadian steel has already been subject to a 50 per cent rate since last year.

There are a few possibilities as to what Trump might have meant, but there's a larger point to the post beyond those details: to communicate that the administration's in it for the long haul. It'll be a new year with the same argument.

Canada can no longer presume good faith in trade negotiations with the U.S., according to a leading figure in the country’s automotive industry

"I think good faith left the room at the beginning of this trade fight," said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association.

Volpe, who also sits on Ottawa's advisory committee on Canada-U.S. economic relations, pointed out that his sector has been subject to tariffs since April 2025, and that high-ranking U.S. officials — including the president — "want to end car production in Canada."

Trump said in an online post on Monday that tariffs on Canadian automobiles, car parts and steel will increase to 50 per cent on Jan. 1.

"When it comes down to it, they've shown us that we have to read every single piece of punctuation," Volpe told CBC Radio’s The Current.

"And we have to think about what they've done with Korea and with Japan and the U.K. and the EU, which is sign real tough agreements — and then backtrack on their commitments."

Trump's new 50% tariff threat meant to 'intimidate,' Bloc Québécois leader says

Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet, who has said Canada should respond to U.S. tariffs with dollar-for-dollar reciprocal tariffs, urged Ottawa on Monday to focus on all tariff-impacted sectors, not just the Ontario-based auto sector, saying, 'everything has to be taken into account.'

Trump's most recent 50 per cent tariff is "a temper tantrum" intended to intimidate Canada, said Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet at a Montreal news conference, in French.

Blanchet reiterated that he supported imposing countertariffs on American products that have Quebec and Canadian alternatives. Any money collected, he added, should be used to help businesses and sectors affected by Trump's tariffs.

Blanchet also said he will have a call with Carney Tuesday morning.

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt says her government will look at putting extra money into support programs for New Brunswick businesses and workers hit by the latest round of U.S. tariffs. She said provincial support will pair with the $25 billion in federal tariff relief measures.

At a news conference later, Holt said that meant whether to increase the level of funding in existing programs.

"We're going to have to re-evaluate those funds … and make sure we have the appropriate supports" for businesses and workers hit by the latest round of U.S. measures, she said.

Holt told CBC News that she supported Carney’s decision to walk away from trade talks because it was “just not tenable” for Canada to accede to U.S. demands.

The premier said the new tariffs will affect about $112 million in New Brunswick exports to the U.S., or 0.8 per cent of the total.

She didn’t have an estimate of how many jobs would be affected.

University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe said Atlantic Canada will be “largely spared” the impact of the new tariffs, with New Brunswick likely to lose 1,600 jobs.

Read the full story from CBC’s Jacques Poitras here.

In response to Trump's latest tariff threats on Canada, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the U.S. president can "kiss my ass."

"We need to throw everything in the kitchen sink at them. He's arrogant; he's cocky," Ford told Newstalk 580 CFRA.

"And that's all Donald Trump is … a bully. Well, he's going to have a rude awakening."

Ford, who is set to speak with reporters at 1:30 p.m. ET, said earlier today that Canada should be prepared to cut off electricity and critical minerals to the U.S. if trade woes worsen.

"I'll cut them off," Ford told The Associated Press, referring to sending critical minerals to the U.S. "You won't get a grain of sand out of Ontario."

He added that Ronald Reagan would be "throwing up on" Trump over his trade policies, noting that Trump keeps a portrait of the former U.S. president near his desk.

Correction: A previous version of this post attributed Ontario Premier Doug Ford's comments to an interview with CBC News. In fact, he was speaking to Newstalk 580 CFRA.

Energy Minister Tim Hodgson was asked in London, Ont., today about whether Canada supports the revival of the Keystone XL pipeline. Hodgson said Ottawa's "Plan A" is to get its energy and critical minerals to allies.

"The Americans will go back and forth. We will continue to work to get the very best deal possible," he told reporters.

"We do not control what they do. We will focus on building Canada…. That was Plan A before; it's Plan A now."

Hodgson was also asked about using energy resources as part of Canada's negotiating leverage, something Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said Ottawa should be prepared to do.

"We're not going to negotiate through the media," Hodgson said.