this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2025
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The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on unjustified U.S. tariffs against Canada:

“Today, after a 30-day pause, the United States administration has decided to proceed with imposing 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian exports and 10 per cent tariffs on Canadian energy. Let me be unequivocally clear – there is no justification for these actions.

“While less than 1 per cent of the fentanyl intercepted at the U.S. border comes from Canada, we have worked relentlessly to address this scourge that affects Canadians and Americans alike. We implemented a $1.3 billion border plan with new choppers, boots on the ground, more co-ordination, and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl. We appointed a Fentanyl Czar, listed transnational criminal cartels as terrorist organizations, launched the Joint Operational Intelligence Cell, and are establishing a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force on organized crime. Because of this work – in partnership with the United States – fentanyl seizures from Canada have dropped 97 per cent between December 2024 and January 2025 to a near-zero low of 0.03 pounds seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

“Canada will not let this unjustified decision go unanswered. Should American tariffs come into effect tonight, Canada will, effective 12:01 a.m. EST tomorrow, respond with 25 per cent tariffs against $155 billion of American goods – starting with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately, and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion on American products in 21 days’ time. Our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. trade action is withdrawn, and should U.S. tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures. While we urge the U.S. administration to reconsider their tariffs, Canada remains firm in standing up for our economy, our jobs, our workers, and for a fair deal.

“Because of the tariffs imposed by the U.S., Americans will pay more for groceries, gas, and cars, and potentially lose thousands of jobs. Tariffs will disrupt an incredibly successful trading relationship. They will violate the very trade agreement that was negotiated by President Trump in his last term.”

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[–] phoenixz 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Even when these tarrifs are gone, Canada, Europe and Mexico should continue to move away from the US economy as the US has shown time and again that it's current political system is so horrendously corrupt that it can't be trusted as a partner.

Do NOT buy US built weapons anymore either as there is an actual non zero chance you'll have to use these weapons against the US. Especially the more advanced weapons like the F35, which is already a shit bucket on its own, pose a huge risk as you can rest assured knowing that the US has a kill switch for these when needed.

Until the US completely rebuilds it political system from the ground up, new constitution and all, it should be ignored and left out of the sandbox where the rest of the world is pkaying

[–] [email protected] 3 points 19 hours ago

The kill switch is maintenance. Parts and supply are the constraints. In a way it should engender cooperation and partnership, but if you let republicans take control partnership becomes abusive

[–] AlolanVulpix 38 points 1 day ago (3 children)
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[–] JohnnyCanuck 68 points 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Part of the response should be to remove everything put in place to appease Trump. Pull back the new border plan, take away the fentanyl czar, remove the terrorist designation from cartels (and apologize to Mexico), etc.

And I also like Doctorow's idea of removing all the copyright protection shit we put in place to appease the U.S. in the past and anything else we can think of like that.

[–] imvii 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Part of the response should be to remove everything put in place to appease Trump.

Some of it, yes. But I think improved security is needed at the border now more than ever.

[–] JohnnyCanuck 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The point was to secure stuff going south. Who cares now?

[–] imvii 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'm more interested in securing it for who is moving from US to Canada.

[–] JohnnyCanuck 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

But what was put in place recently won't do anything for that.

Now that I think about it, we should drastically reduce security going south (even beyond removing what was set up in the last month) to enable smuggling to get around the tariffs.

[–] [email protected] 82 points 2 days ago

Please, all sane nations of the world, unite against the US.

We weren't able to stem the tide.

[–] cheerytext1981 64 points 2 days ago (17 children)

I’m glad to see Trudeau leaving the office, but he’s doing a hell of a send off.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 2 days ago (9 children)

As an American, I always assumed hate against him was like Canadian Fox News stuff. What did he (not?) do to turn people against him?

[–] Revan343 3 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

He's a milquetoast centrist, so other centrists like him, idiotic right-wingers rave about him being a communist, and left-wingers wish it were true

[–] Adderbox76 18 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I always assumed hate against him was like Canadian Fox News stuff.

It mostly is, yes. The Conservative Party leader is very much a Maple Maga fanboy, and (like all Conservatives before him) he appeals to the Prairie provinces; the oil workers, farmers, truckers, etc... Your basic Fox news crowd. His father was also very disliked by the same crowd, and so his last name itself triggers them like you wouldn't believe. (Think "Canadian Clintons")

But a large part of it (I initially thought), was also typical Canadian political trends. We tend to put the Liberals in power and then keep re-electing them long enough for them to inevitably become the villain (usually about a decade), and then over-correct and do the same thing with the Conservatives. Like clockwork, and it was coming up to about that time.

Now, though, with Trudeau stepping down, and the promise of a new leader...combined with the general hatred of Pierre Poppinfresh, the Liberals fortunes have turned around 180 degrees. So it's going to be an interesting federal election rather than the landslide that the Maple Maga fuckwits were expecting.

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[–] healthetank 31 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I was hopeful when he got elected, and he fulfilled some promises, but he failed to move forward with proportional representation election overhaul, IMO a major flaw that could've been what he was known for in the future. He's also had scandals like any other PM. The Me to We charity scandal (where a charity was awarded a large govt contract. The charity had previously paid Trudeau and family to appear at its events) was ultimately cleared by the ethics commissioner. His SNC lavalin scandal where he attempted to directly influence our justice minister to intervene on an ongoing criminal case, then removed her from her position when she refused. SNC lavalin was also found to have made illegal party donations, which the liberals didn't reveal when the initially found them.

He was also the first PM in history to have been found to break the federal ethics rules by accepting a private vacation for his family from Aga Khan, breaking the conflict of interest rules.

He's always paraded himself as very progressive, but images circulated of him wearing brown face when he was slightly younger (but definitely old enough to know better).

Finally, a ton of people who were anti-mask were fed rhetoric that it was Trudeau's fault for the masking requirements, despite the fact that it was almost entirely Provincial restrictions. They also tried to cry overreach when Ford failed to remove the Ottawa encampment, and Trudeau enacted the emergency act to clear them, though again, reviews after the fact cleared him and agreed it was an acceptable use of the powers.

Overall, an enormous step up from Harper says of no transparency, but he didn't quite live up to what many had hoped, and they're angry at the current situation, and blaming him is an easy scapegoat.

[–] AlolanVulpix 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

failed to move forward with proportional representation

Liberals (and Conservatives) actually don't want PR. In 2015, the LPC only promised that 2015 would be the last election under FPTP, not that they would implement PR.

Read more: Fact Checking Justin Trudeau on Electoral Reform

Come join us over at [email protected], we are trying to control of government back to the people!

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I dislike him because he's a neoliberal and especially his broken promise to get rid of FPTP voting.

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[–] cheerytext1981 42 points 2 days ago (1 children)

He’s been in office for nearly a decade. Canadians are tired of him. Realistically, he hasn’t done anything worse than any other politician — you make promises, some you deliver on, some you don’t. Eventually, the “don’t”s pile up, and folks get tired

[–] [email protected] 35 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Yeah i don't really mind him. The one thing I am salty about is still the election reforms that he promised the first time he won. He was in a position to do something big but didnt. Such a missed opportunity.

[–] AlolanVulpix 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Come join us over at [email protected], we are trying to control of government back to the people!

[–] yarn 13 points 1 day ago

Honestly, people are just tired of him because he's been in office so long and has failed to deliver on some old promises.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 days ago

Trudeau teaching the whole world how to deal with strongmen.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Not trying to victim blame here, but Canada's mistake was thinking these tariffs had anything to do with fentanyl or border security. These tariffs are literally just an ego thing for Trump. Outside of building a giant golden Trump monument and gifting it to the US like the Statue of Liberty, I don't think there's much they could have done.

Either that or take a note from Putin and find some kompromat.

[–] IronKrill 21 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I wouldn't call it a mistake, personally. Even knowing the farce that it is, acting nice gave us an extra 30 days to talk deals with other leaders plus gives us the moral highground to say we tried before beginning a counter with full resolve. Any concessions we gave were small.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 day ago

We obviously don't think the US is genuine in their justification and the statement is designed to highlight how patently ridiculous it is.

The fentanyl/border security tariff allowance is just a thin justification to avoid outright violating the terms of the treaty Trump previously negotiated.

[–] ZC3rr0r 18 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Honest question: Does anyone know if those tariffs apply retroactively? Say you purchased something a couple weeks ago, but it hasn't crossed the border yet due to shipping delays, would it get taxed under the old rules? Or does it incur the tariff?

[–] breakfastmtn 18 points 2 days ago

The tariffs shouldn't apply:

Canada’s countermeasures do not apply to U.S. goods that are in transit to Canada on the day on which they come into force.

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2025/02/list-of-products-from-the-united-states-subject-to-25-per-cent-tariffs-effective-february-4-2025.html

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