Trudeau promises 'very strong' response as Trump renews his threat to hit Canada with tariffs

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday Canada will hit back at the U.S. if President Donald Trump goes ahead with punishing tariffs on Feb. 1, promising this country will respond in kind with "robust, rapid" and "very strong" retaliatory measures.

The comments come after a chaotic day for the Canada-U.S. trade relationship. After his inauguration, Trump held off issuing an executive order to levy tariffs on Canada, only to suggest later in the day he wants a 25 per cent tariff in place in two weeks' time.

Trudeau told reporters at a special cabinet meeting in Montebello, Que., he was unfazed by Trump's about-face, saying he's come to expect a great deal of "uncertainty" when dealing with this president.

He said Trump is a skilled negotiator and he will "do what he can to keep his negotiating partners a little off balance."

But Canada is a good negotiator, too, Trudeau said, and it's willing to inflict economic pain on the U.S. to get Trump to back down.

While Canada's priority is to avoid the tariffs altogether and foster "a very positive relationship with the U.S.," the country won't roll over in the face of Trump's threats, Trudeau said.

Despite Trump's rhetoric that he doesn't need anything from Canada, Trudeau said if Trump really wants to usher in a "golden age of America" with a booming economy, he's going to need Canadian natural resources like oil, lumber, steel, aluminum and critical minerals to make that happen.

That gives Canada some leverage, Trudeau said.

"Everything is on the table and I support the principle of dollar-for-dollar matching tariffs," Trudeau said. "It's something we're absolutely going to be looking at if they move forward. We are prepared for every possible scenario."

A 25 per cent tariff would be particularly devastating to Canada. Experts have said just a 10 per cent levy would shave billions of dollars off the GDP and potentially plunge the country into a painful recession requiring government stimulus to prop up the economy.

Officials have already drawn up a plan that will levy immediate tariffs on $37 billion worth of American goods if Trump moves against Canada — rising to $110 billion if the president doesn't back down.

Ottawa is also prepared to enact some more severe measures, including a possible oil export ban, if those earlier efforts don't succeed.

Trudeau warned there will be costs borne by consumers if Canada goes into a trade war to stop Trump from torpedoing the economy. Retaliatory tariffs could push up the price of the many things Canadians buy from the U.S.

Trudeau said there will be government support to help workers and businesses weather the storm — and he urged people to buy Canadian goods wherever possible to avoid the worst of the potential cost increases.