Justin Trudeau accused President Trump of declaring a “dumb” trade war on Canada as he insisted his country “will not back down.”
“A fight with Canada will have no winners,” Trudeau said as he addressed reporters in Ottawa and outlined his government’s response to the sweeping tariffs introduced on Monday.
He called for Canadians to “pull together,” and he insisted Americans would feel the impact of the tariffs.
Trudeau accused Trump of trying to collapse the Canadian economy in order to make it easier to annex the country.
“We will never be the 51st state, but he can do damage to the Canadian economy, and he’s started this morning, but he is rapidly going to find out as American families are going to find out, that that’s going to hurt people on both sides of the border.”
Canada is the world’s ninth largest economy, at $2.3 trillion — about the same size as New York state.
Trudeau said he had not spoken with Trump yet, but hoped to soon.
“Today, the United States launched a trade war against Canada: their closest partner and ally — their closest friend. Canadians are reasonable, but we will not back down from a fight,” he wrote on X.
The Canadian prime minister has already announced retaliatory tariffs on 30 billion Canadian dollars ($20.7 billion) worth of American goods.
Trump hit back at Trudeau’s remarks on Tuesday, threatening to increase tariffs further on Canadian goods in response.
“Please explain to Governor Trudeau, of Canada, that when he puts on a Retaliatory Tariff on the US, our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!” he wrote on his Truth Social account.
Trudeau insisted that Canadians don’t “hate” Americans but described the tariffs as a response to a “policy decision by the American government designed to go after the Canadian economy.”
“I want to speak first directly to the American people. We don’t want this. We want to work with you as a friend and ally. We don’t want to see you hurt either. But your government has chosen to do this to you. As of this morning, markets are down and inflation is set to rise dramatically,” he told reporters.
Addressing the president by his first name, “Donald,” he said he agreed with the Wall Street Journal’s editorial article published Monday, adding, “They point out that even though you’re a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do. We two friends fighting is exactly what our opponents around the world want to see.”
Trudeau called on Canadians to use Canadian products, boycott American goods such as bourbon and stop vacationing in Florida.
He also said Canadians were likely to keep booing the Star-Spangled Banner at sporting events, following a series of high-profile incidents at recent hockey games between his country and the US.
Trudeau’s comments came in what was likely his final press conference as prime minister as he prepares to step down in the coming days.
Over the weekend, Trudeau was in London to show his support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the wake of the explosive fallout on Friday in the Oval Office with Trump.
Canada’s state premiers are expected to give their own addresses about the retaliatory measures to US tariffs later on Tuesday.
In one of the first retaliatory measures announced, Ontario premier Doug Ford said that his state was canceling its contract with Elon Musk-owned Starlink.
Trump’s tariffs, which went into force just after midnight on Tuesday, were taken in response to what Trump said were failures on the part of Canada, China and Mexico to stem the flow of deadly fentanyl into the US, claims Trudeau described on Tuesday as “completely bogus.”
Mexico is expected to respond with a list of retaliatory measures on US goods on Sunday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Tuesday.
“There is no motive or reason, nor justification that supports this decision that will affect our people and our nations,” she said.
Trudeau’s likely successor as Canadian PM, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poillevre, also launched an attack on Trump on Tuesday.
“At 12:01 a.m., President Trump stabbed America’s best friend in the back. My message to the president is this — Canada will fight back,” he announced in a statement.
