Montreal, Canada – Canada experienced a turbulent starting until 2025, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced its days of resignation to the New Year, federal elections and deepening the crisis in terms of price affordability.
Now Canada is standing before What some economists He called “the greatest commercial shock for almost 100 years.”
The President of the United States Donald Trump threatened to apply 25 % tariffs to a wide selection of Canadian imports and 10 % tariffs for Canadian energy.
While the funds were to start on Tuesday, Trudeau said on Monday afternoon that American tariffs and retaliation announced by his government could be delayed “at least 30 days” because the countries are working together on the security of borders.
However, for a lot of in the whole country the potential of trade war between long -term allies still fuels the sense of anger, in addition to the fear and confusion related to what is to come.
The threat of Trump’s tariffs also caused questions about the nature of cross -border relations and encouraged Canada to increase trade in the country, looking outside the US in search of more reliable international partners.
“It is now very, very disturbing for employees,” said Al Jazeera Lana Payne, the National Coordinator of Unifier, the largest in Canada of the private sector Union before the tariff delay was announced.
“A lot of anxiety, a lot of worries, a lot of uncertainty – they feel all this,” she said in a telephone interview on Monday.
“But I would also say … They now feel angry that the United States would do it with the Canadian economy, they would do it for Canadian employees, taking into account our long history of cooperation.”
Canadian ties
The United States and Canada have been having fun with close political and industrial ties for a long time.
According to last yr, the US exported over USD 322 million of products to Canada, according to Data of the Universal List of USA. He also assigned products value over USD 377 million from the northern neighbor.
Almost three quarters of the total industrial export of Canada goes to the USA. The country is also the largest foreign energy supplier in the US, and about 97 percent of Canadian oil exports pass south of the border in 2023.
But Trump, who routinely criticized Canada, since he won the re -election in November, he said Tariffs are needed to push the Canada government to stop the pornanyl trade and irregular migration through its border from the USA.
He also argued that the tariffs are aimed toward compensating for the trade deficit with Canada, which he called a “subsidy”.
“We pay hundreds of billions of dollars for subsidizing Canada. Why? There is no reason. We don’t need anything they have. We have unlimited energy, we should create our own cars and have more wood than we can ever use, “wrote the US president recently on social media.
Trudeau returned, announcing a retaliation tariffs on Saturday compared to around USD 106 billion (155 billion Canadian dollars). Of this, about USD 20 billion ($ 30 billion in Canadian dollars) was imposed on Tuesday.
“We might be strong in Canada. We might be strong to make our countries still be the best neighbors in the world – said Trudeau.
But on Monday afternoon, the Canadian Prime Minister announced that the proposed tariffs could be stopped “for at least 30 days” after he had a “good phone” with Trump.
Canada might be “Appoint the fentanyl tsar, we will mention cartels as terrorists, we provide 24/7 eyes on the border, launch joint impact forces in Canada and the US to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering, “he said, amongst others.
I just had a great phone with President Trump. Canada implements our border plan value $ 1.3 billion – strengthening the border with latest helicopters, technology and staff, increased coordination with our American partners and increased resources to stop the fentanyl flow. Almost…
– Justin Trudeau (@justintrudeau) February 3, 2025
“Subject to the whims of Trump”
ASA MCKERCHER, a professor at the University of ST University, Francis Xavier, who studies Canada’s relations, said that each countries have experienced tensions in the past.
He pointed to tensions about Canada’s refusal to join the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 and personal animosities between former US president John F Kennedy and the Canadian prime minister John Dietenbaker in the early Sixties.
But Mckercher said that the current industrial tensions fell on a relationship with the lowest point.
“We didn’t really see how Americans do everything to impose a policy that will simply destroy the Canadian economy. This is a difference here, “said Mckercher al Jazera.
He said that since Trump signed an order authorizing the tariffs against Canada, and Trudeau presented mutual means, in Canada there was a rise in nationalist moods.
Canadian Crowds booed the national anthem of the USA Hockey and basketball matches At the weekend, while the leaders of several provinces called people to “buy Canadian” in response to tariffs.
“Some people react in the only way American hockey teams can boom and do not buy Kellogg flakes because it is produced in America,” he said.
For the average man, Mckercher explained, these “small acts of rebellion” offer “a sense of agency” in a situation where otherwise they might feel powerless.
“We are really subject to the whims of a guy in the White House and it is very terrifying.”
Confusion and uncertainty
In a small fruit and vegetation store in Montreal, on Monday morning, buyers Patricia and Lorraine were searching for avocado-but they’d to ensure that that he was not from the USA.
“I think it causes a lot of anxiety to everyone,” Patricia, who gave Al Jazera’s name, she said about the upcoming tariffs. “Even the atmosphere in general: prices will rise, change our pace of life.”
“We have to boycott [US products]. We have to, Lorraine said when the couple left the shop.
“We have no choice,” Patricia added.
The owner of the store, Amina Mulhim, said that she was waiting to see how potential tariffs would affect his activities. Al Jazera said that he already sells local goods, but in the winter months most of the products come from the USA and Mexico.
“Everything is already expensive,” he said.
A number of blocks away, in a provincial liquor store, the customer Angelo Baaco added wine to a small basket. Quebec government he said that American alcohol might be faraway from the shelves on Tuesday.
“These are just things that I will not be able to get in in the next few months or who knows how long. So I thought: “OK, it would as well get it,” Baaco said, reaching for red wine from California. “Just in case I’m going to catch one other.”
However, the threat of an prolonged trade war goes beyond on a regular basis shopping. For many Canadians – including people living in poverty and homelessness – the perspective can worsen the difficult economic situation.
Georges Ohana – director of homelessness prevention in Old Breweri Mission, organization of support and spokesman in Montreal – said that his biggest concern is potential lack of jobs consequently of American tariffs.
“It can combine what was already a very difficult beginning of the year in terms of inflation,” said Al Jazera.
Ohana has already said that in recent years there was a rise in the demand for food banks and shelter beds in Montreal. Rental costs in the city have also increased rapidly, which makes it difficult to find inexpensive apartments.
“When you combine these different systems, it hinders homeless men and women, defenseless people, people who have trauma to be able to get the need for help,” he said.
But Ohana added: “I don’t think we draw conclusions [on tariffs]. I think we should wait to see how it bins. “
“Not the act of an ally”
Even when Canada seems to protect relief from American tariffs – at the least for now – many Canadians have expressed anger due to Trump’s repetitive threats towards their country.
Last week, political leaders, work and civil society released “Canadian promise” to the construction of a nationwide response to Trump’s administration policy.
This includes the protection of Canadian sovereignty, reducing the “dependence of the country on the United States through the diversification of our trade” and constructing alliances with other countries, including in terms of climatic activities, humanitarian aid and development of democracy.
“It becomes very clear that building immunity for Canada in this increasingly turbulent world means that it will actually reduce our dependence on our southern neighbor,” said the legislator Charlie Angus from the latest democratic party during press conference Campaign announcement.
According to Payne from Unifor, the threat of tariffs – which Canada has experienced for weeks, because Trump first handed over its plan in November – stays dangerous alone.
“It causes the industry to stop at investments. As a result, the industry directs investments to the United States. As a result, the industry cancels investments because the tariffs make the action more expensive for them, “she explained.
However, she said that Trump’s tariff threat also understood in Canada that the country had to review all its economic and industrial policies, including order processes, infrastructure projects and the development of natural resources.
“All this is on the table in a way he hasn’t been on the table for a long time,” said Al Jazera.
“At the moment there is a great appetite because there is a feeling … that we no longer have a friend in the way we thought we did it, and a stable sales partner,” added Payne.
“We have a president who breaks commercial agreements. We have a president who threatens us every day that would throw our economy into a recession. These are not an ally. “
