Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said Ottawa is hitting back against U.S. President Donald Trump‘s tariffs against Canada.
In a press conference held in Ottawa, he called Washington’s trade action “very dumb” and vowed to “hit back hard” as the country retaliates to try and get the tariffs lifted as soon as possible.
Here is a transcript of his remarks, including the English interpretation where he spoke in French.
Trudeau: So today the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend. At the same time, they’re talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying, murderous dictator.
Make that make sense.
Canadians are reasonable and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight — not when our country and the well-being of everyone in it is at stake. At the moment, the U.S. tariffs came into effect in the early hours of this morning, and so did the Canadian response.
Canada will be implementing 25 per cent tariffs against $155 billion worth of American goods, starting with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately, and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion of American products in 21 days’ time.
Today we will also be challenging these illegal actions by filing dispute resolution claims at the World Trade Organization and through the USMCA.
But in the meantime, our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. tariffs are withdrawn and not a moment sooner. And should these tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures, measures which will demonstrate that there are no winners in a trade war.
Now, just like I did a month ago, I want to speak first directly to the American people.
We don’t want this. We want to work with you as a friend and ally, and we don’t want to see you hurt either. But your government has chosen to do this to you. As of this morning, markets are down and inflation is set to rise dramatically all across your country.
Your government has chosen to put American jobs at risk at the thousands of workplaces that succeed because of materials from Canada, or because of consumers in Canada, or both. They’ve chosen to raise costs for American consumers on everyday essential items like groceries and gas, on major purchases like cars and homes and everything in between.
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They’ve chosen to harm American national security, impeding access to the abundant critical minerals, energy, building materials and fertilizers that we have and that the United States needs to grow and prosper.
They’ve chosen to launch a trade war that will, first and foremost, harm American families.
They’ve chosen to sabotage their own agenda that was supposed to usher in a new golden age for the United States. And they’ve chosen to undermine the incredible work we’ve done together to tackle the scourge that is fentanyl, a drug that must be wiped from the face of the earth.
So on that point, let me be crystal clear: there is absolutely no justification or need whatsoever for these tariffs today. Now, the legal pretext your government is using to bring in these tariffs is that Canada is apparently unwilling to help in the fight against illegal fentanyl.
Well, that is totally false.
Let’s look at the fact our border is already safe and secure. Far less than one per cent of fentanyl flows and less than one per cent of illegal crossings into the United States comes from Canada. But we acted, because we know we can always do better.
We responded to concerns, including from the president, by implementing an ambitious $1.3-billion border plan, a border plan that includes generational investments in new AI and imaging tools to stop the flow of fentanyl in its tracks, stronger co-ordination and information sharing with American agencies, along with the deployment of drones, helicopters and additional personnel to keep our border secure.
You know, a month ago, as part of an agreement with the United States that paused the tariffs, we made further commitments. We appointed Kevin Brosseau as our fentanyl czar, a man who dedicated his multi-decade career in law enforcement to combating organized crime networks and drug trafficking.
We designated seven drug cartels — sick, evil groups who cynically profit off the pain and suffering of people on both sides of the border — as the terrorist organizations that they are.
And just yesterday, we launched a new joint operations partnership, supported by a $200-million investment between Canada’s security and law enforcement agencies, a partnership that will enhance the co-ordination of information and intelligence in order to thwart criminal gangs involved in the illegal fentanyl trade.
And critically, our actions are working as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection just acknowledged there was a 97 per cent drop in fentanyl seizure from January compared to December, to a near-zero low of less than half an ounce seized in January.
Now, I want to speak directly to one specific American.
Donald, in the over eight years you and I have worked together, we’ve done big things.
We signed a historic deal that has created record jobs and growth in both of our countries. We’ve done big things together on the world stage, as Canada and the U.S. have done together for decades, for generations. And now, we should be working together to ensure even greater prosperity for North Americans in a very uncertain and challenging world.
Now, it’s not in my habit to agree with the Wall Street Journal. But Donald, they point out that even though you’re a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do.
We two friends fighting is exactly what our opponents around the world want to see.
And now, to my fellow Canadians. I won’t sugarcoat it. This is going to be tough, even though we’re all going to pull together because that’s what we do.
We will use every tool at our disposal so Canadian workers and businesses can weather this storm. From expanding EI benefits and making them more flexible to providing direct supports to businesses. We will be there as needed to help.
But Canada, make no mistake. No matter how long this lasts, no matter what the cost, the federal government and other orders of government will be there for you.
We will defend Canadian jobs. We will take measures to prevent predatory behaviour that threatens Canadian companies because of the impacts of this trade war, leaving them open to takeovers. We will relentlessly fight to protect our economy. We will stand up for Canadians every single second of every single day. Because this country is worth fighting for.
You know we’ve been through tough spots before, but every time we’ve faced long odds and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, we’ve not only survived, we’ve emerged stronger than ever.
Because when it comes to defending our great nation, there is no price we all aren’t willing to pay.
And today is no different. Thank you.