Trump Slaps 50 % Tariffs on Canadian Steel & Aluminum—Ottawa Plots Retaliation
Canada woke up to a 50 per cent border wall around its steel and aluminum. President Trump’s new proclamation brands foreign metal a national-security threat and spares only the U.K. Ottawa calls the move “unlawful and unjustified,” noting that 65 per cent of Canadian steel heads south; plants in Sault Ste. Marie and Hamilton warn they can’t swallow duties that steep for more than a few weeks.
Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, fresh from “positive” but fruitless talks in Washington, vows every loonie from Canada’s existing $90-billion counter-tariffs will keep idled workers on payroll. Business groups and premiers urge an accelerated “buy-Canadian” push while exporters brace for chaos along integrated supply chains—auto, construction and energy projects all run on cross-border coils and billets.
Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra and Ontario Premier Doug Ford strike an upbeat tone, insisting a broader deal is “within reach.” Yet negotiators still face court fights over the tariff’s legality under CUSMA, and the metals lobby predicts temporary layoffs within a month unless Washington blinks. With the first shipments rated at the new duty landing Wednesday, both economies are about to discover how much pain they can tolerate in the name of leverage.
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