The United States will impose a 25 per cent tariff on all automobile imports as of April 2.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon.
Trump said the tariffs would remain in place for the rest of his term.
“I think our automobile business will flourish like it’s never flourished before,” the president told reporters.
The White House said the tariffs will apply to passenger vehicles and light trucks, as well as key automobile parts.
Automobile parts that are compliant with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement will be exempt — at least for now.
Tariffs a ‘direct attack’: Liberal leader
Reacting to Trump’s announcement, Liberal leader Mark Carney described it as a “direct attack” on Canada and workers in the automobile industry.
“We will defend our workers, we’ll defend our companies, we’ll defend our country, and we’ll defend it together,” Carney told reporters.
The Liberal leader also reiterated steps he had taken last week, before launching the federal election, to support workers and businesses impacted by tariffs.
That included temporarily waiving the one-week employment insurance waiting period and allowing companies to defer corporate income tax payments to increase liquidity.
Carney plans to meet with the Canada-U.S. relations cabinet committee on Thursday to discuss how the country will respond.
‘We’ve got to fight back like hell’: NDP leader
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said Canada needs to fight back against the Trump Administration with retaliatory tariffs.
“This is a direct attack on our workers, and we’ve got to fight back like hell,” Singh told reporters.
“There are hundreds and thousands of workers right now that are wondering if their line is going to shut down and if they’re going to lose their job.”
Singh said the government needs to step up to ensure those workers can get employment insurance and keep paying their bills.
He added that Carney should have done more to support workers and businesses before calling an election.
Tariffs are ‘unjustified and unprovoked’: Conservative leader
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre also condemned the “unjustified and unprovoked” tariffs, saying they hurt workers on both sides of the border.
“We must retaliate and target goods and services that we don’t need, can buy elsewhere, or make ourselves to maximize the impact on the Americans while minimizing the impact on ourselves,” said Poilievre.
The Conservative leader also spoke directly to workers in the auto sector and said the country will be there for them.
He promised to ensure that workers have income replacement and that businesses have the liquidity they need to get through the trade dispute.
“We will unite as Canadians to protect our affected sectors,” he added.
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