Canadian leaders and citizens are responding after U.S. President Donald Trump followed through on his threats to slap 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum from all countries, including Canada.
This latest set of import taxes will take effect on March 12, in addition to recently delayed blanket levies that were put on hold for 30 days earlier this month.
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In the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said, in reference to steel and aluminum products, “if we make it in the United States we don’t need it to be made in Canada, we’ll have the jobs, that’s why Canada should be our 51st state.”
The executive order cites national security threats to America as well as a surge in metal imports from countries like Canada and Mexico as justification for the charges.
“Steel articles…are being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States,” it says.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Tuesday from an AI conference in Paris that the tariffs were “entirely unjustified,” and that the Canadian government would be working with the Trump administration over the coming weeks to “highlight the negative impacts,” of them on Canadians and Americans.
“We are the U.S.’s closest ally, our economies are integrated, Canadian steel and aluminum is used in a number of key American industries, whether its defense, ship building, manufacturing, energy, automotive. Together we make North America more competitive,” he said.
Meanwhile, during a CHCH News interview on Monday, Mayor of Hamilton Andrea Horwath said that the tariffs will have a “significant impact” on Hamilton’s economy.
Hamilton is a steel production hub and home to one the largest manufacturers in the country, including ArcelorMittal Dofasco, a flat steel producer that employs 5,000 people in the city and ships 4.5 million net tons of steel every year.
In a statement on X on Tuesday, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne said,“we will continue to stand up for Canada, support our workers, and defend our industries as we have always done and always will.”
My statement on U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs: pic.twitter.com/mUur08KV7A
— François-Philippe Champagne (FPC) 🇨🇦 (@FP_Champagne) February 11, 2025
As Canada’s leaders respond, Canadians have been reacting to news of the incoming steel and aluminum tariffs as well online.
“We don’t care about what you are saying!!! We are in this position because of your poor leadership and judgement in the last 10 years,” one X user wrote.
“There is strength in numbers. Canada should unite with the European Union, Australia, Japan, and Mexico to provide a united and uniform response. Withhold exports of steel, aluminum, electricity, oil, and gas,” another person wrote.
“Hit back hard,” someone else said.
