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 Our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. trade action is withdrawn, and should U.S. tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures.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.”
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.