Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on March 4, 2025, that Canada will respond to new U.S. tariffs with a 25% levy on American goods worth up to C$155 billion. The statement, published by the Prime Minister's Office, says the retaliation will begin at 12:01 a.m. EST the next day if Washington goes ahead with its own measures.
The Canadian response is staged rather than immediate all at once. Trudeau said tariffs on C$30 billion of U.S. goods would begin immediately, while duties on the remaining C$125 billion would follow in 21 days. That structure gives Ottawa room to escalate gradually while still sending a clear message that the response will be broad and sustained if the United States does not change course.
The statement says the American side had decided to proceed after a 30-day pause with 25% tariffs on Canadian exports and 10% tariffs on Canadian energy. Trudeau called the decision unjustified and said Canada would not let it go unanswered. The government also said the duties would remain in place until the U.S. trade action is withdrawn.
The statement goes further than trade numbers. Trudeau said the tariffs would force Americans to pay more for groceries, gas and cars and could cost thousands of jobs. He argued that the measures would disrupt an unusually successful trading relationship and violate the trade agreement negotiated in President Trump's previous term. That language signals that Ottawa sees the issue not just as a commercial dispute but as a breach of the basic rules that have governed North American trade.
The statement also tries to rebut the U.S. justification. Trudeau said less than 1% of fentanyl intercepted at the U.S. border comes from Canada and pointed to a $1.3 billion border plan, a fentanyl czar, criminal-cartel designations and a joint strike force on organized crime. The message is that Canada believes it has already done what Washington says is needed, and that the tariff response therefore lacks a factual basis.
Political pressure is also part of the picture. Trudeau said Canada is in ongoing talks with provinces and territories about possible non-tariff measures if the U.S. action continues. That suggests the federal government is preparing for a wider economic response beyond the tariff schedule itself, even if the exact measures are not specified in the statement.
The tone of the declaration is unusually direct for a trade dispute but not unusual for this one. Canada is trying to show resolve while still describing the response as proportional and temporary. The next step depends on whether Washington proceeds with the tariffs it has announced. If it does, Canada says the retaliation will start immediately and expand in three weeks.
The staged schedule is politically useful for Ottawa because it creates pressure without making every retaliation immediate. It also gives the U.S. side a chance to reverse course before the second wave lands, which is likely the point of the 21-day delay. The statement is therefore both warning and leverage: Canada is telling Washington that the costs will rise, but it is still leaving room for the tariffs to be withdrawn before the full package is imposed.
