How is Canada readying its arsenal for a trade war with the US?

Perhaps contrary to its national reputation of equanimity, Canada is matching President Donald Trump's bellicosity about tariffs with a steely resolve. The actions "by the White House split us apart instead of bringing us together," said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a Saturday speech. The country has wasted little time readying retaliatory measures against the Trump administration's planned tariffs.

In a fitting metaphor for the United States' standing with Canada, the typically jocular hockey rivalry between the two nations took on a sharper edge as Canadian fans drowned out the U.S. national anthem with a chorus of boos at recent games against American teams. But arena-echoing jeers aren't Canada's only response to the Trump administration's trade war, initially set to go into effect this week but delayed a month after last-minute negotiations.

Canadian hockey fans boo US national anthem after Trump imposes tariffs - YouTube

Watch On

What did the commentators say?

Canada plans on "moving forward with 25% tariffs on $155 billion worth of goods in response to the unjustified and unreasonable tariffs imposed by the United States on Canadian goods," its government said. The retaliatory tariffs will apply to "American products like orange juice, peanut butter, wine, spirits, beer, coffee, appliance, apparel, footwear, motorcycles, cosmetics and pulp and paper," said the CBC — goods that Canada would ordinarily import from the U.S. "for which there is a replacement" from other countries, said Finance and Intergovernmental affairs minister Dominic LeBlanc. Trudeau has also encouraged shoppers to focus on buying Canadian products, "effectively urging a boycott of U.S. goods," said The Associated Press.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The Canadian government is "not ruling out other retaliatory measures," Politico said, including "targeting Elon Musk's companies, or slapping export taxes on Canadian oil." Already, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has pledged to end his province's contract with Musk's StarLink internet provider, drawing a line in the sand for American companies "hellbent on destroying our economy" as part of Trump's leadership team. "Trump is the only person to be blamed," said Ford to ABC News. "Maybe Elon Musk can call his buddy?"

What next?

Canadians "appear to have misunderstood the plain language of the executive order," said White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on CNBC. Instead, Canada is mistakenly "interpreting it as a trade war" rather than accepting Trump's claim that the tariffs are intended to stop undocumented immigration and drug trafficking, said Hassett. To that end, the agreement negotiated to delay Trump's tariffs by a month included on the Canadian side "measures that were already being enacted under its $1.3 billion border plan," The New York Times said, as well as the creation of a "joint strike force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering."

With the immediate threat delayed for now by at least a month, Canadian provincial lawmakers have nevertheless been "united and resolute" in the face of the tariff threat, with each "crafting individual retaliation measures that will continue to unfold in the days ahead," said TD Bank in its analysis of the ongoing showdown. Given Canada's "Twisted Sister" declaration that "we're not gonna take it," TD Bank's analysts said, "brace for a further escalation."

"I won't sugarcoat it," said Prime Minister Trudeau in an address. "Our nation could be facing difficult times in the coming days and weeks." Although Canada prefers to "solve our disputes with diplomacy," Trudeau added, the country is "ready to fight when necessary."