Trump confirms he will impose 25% tariff on Canadian goods Tuesday

U.S. President Donald Trump says his long-threatened trade war is going ahead with tariffs on Canadian goods set to take effect just after midnight and there's nothing Canada can do to stop them.

The announcement threatens to upend trading relations between two countries that, for decades, were close partners and friends. The tariffs, which will apply to everything Canada sends south, could lead to job losses, economic devastation, higher inflation and hurt feelings on both sides of the border.

Speaking to reporters at the White House Monday afternoon, Trump said the United States has been "a laughingstock for years and years" and he needs to take trade action against its continental neighbours.

The president said he wants to punish Canada for a supposedly lax approach to drugs and migrants even though data shows a border crackdown is already producing results.

"Very importantly, tomorrow, tariffs, 25 per cent on Canada and 25 per cent on Mexico, and that will start. So, they're gonna have to have a tariff," Trump said.

Asked if there's anything Canada can do to try and hold off the tariffs, Trump said: "No room left for Mexico or Canada. They're all set, they go into effect tomorrow."

Trump said Canada has allowed fentanyl to flood into the U.S. despite his government's own data that shows that claim is grossly overstated. About 19.5 kilograms was seized at the northern border last year compared to 9,570 kilograms at the southwestern one.

"It comes in from Canada and it comes in from Mexico, and that's an important thing to say," he said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Canada has a package of retaliatory measures ready to hit back at Trump right away.

"We are ready with $155 billion worth of tariffs and we are ready with the first tranche of tariffs, which is $30 billion, which has already been announced," Joly said, referring to countermeasures that were first released when Trump floated his tariff threat last month.

Joly said she will be meeting with her cabinet colleagues this evening to discuss the country's next steps as it stares down the possibility of economic ruin.

"We know this is an existential threat to us. There are thousands of jobs in Canada at stake. Now, we've done the work, we are ready, should the U.S. decide to launch their trade war," Joly said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he's willing to do whatever it takes to get Trump to back down.

"If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do anything — including cutting off their energy — with a smile on my face," Ford said during his first news conference since winning a landslide victory in a provincial election last week.