Trump tariffs: Ford describes latest talks in Washington as ‘productive’; Canada files complaint at WTO; U.S. and Canadian markets tumble

Federal Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the Canadians “have a better understanding” of the U.S. tariff strategy after their 90-minute meeting with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. LeBlanc is speaking at the Canadian embassy in Washington.

Premier Doug Ford emerges from a 90-minute “very productive meeting” with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

“We feel like the temperature has come down.” Ford says there will be another meeting in the U.S. next week once Mark Carney is sworn in as prime minister. “It was very civil.”

Canadian and U.S. markets continued their selloff Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff streak continued, taking the S&P 500 into its first correction since 2023.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 220.11 points at 24,203.23.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 537.36 points at 40,813.57. The S&P 500 index was down 77.78 points at 5,521.52, while the Nasdaq composite was down 345.44 points at 17,303.01.

For years, Canadians from southern Ontario have made the short drive across the border to Buffalo, New York, to load up on cheap milk and shop at retailers like Target and Trader Joe’s that they don’t have access to at home.

But those trips have been happening less often since President Donald Trump took office and began threatening tariffs and disparaging Canada, even saying that the country should become the 51st American state.

Vehicle and truck crossings at the U.S.-Canadian border in western New York are down 13 per cent this year as fewer Canadians make the trip, said Mark Poloncarz, who runs Erie County, which includes Buffalo. The county’s initial sales tax receipts have slipped seven per cent through mid-February, a $4.9-million (all figures U.S.) reduction in revenue. Poloncarz blames the decline at least partly on a drop in Canadian visitors.

Premier Doug Ford and federal Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc have just arrived for their meeting in Washington with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Earlier Thursday, Trump’s pick to represent Washington in Canada struck a measured tone and steered clear of Trump’s inflammatory annexation rhetoric as he answered questions from Senators during his confirmation hearing.

Pete Hoekstra, a Trump ally from Michigan, repeatedly praised Canada’s long-standing relationship with the United States — on trade, national security and intelligence — but vowed to advocate for Trump’s priorities on trade in his role, defending his tariff approach as a quest for “freer” and “fairer” trade.

Facing questions from Democrat Chris Coons about Trump’s attitude towards Canada, Hoekstra distanced himself from the annexation threats, and said Canada is a “sovereign state.”

Only 19 per cent of Republicans said they believe Trump is being too tough on Canada, while six per cent of those surveyed said they Trump isn’t being tough enough.

(The poll of 1,198 voters was conducted between Mar. 6 and Mar. 10.)

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt says it’s unlikely the province will cut off the electricity NB Power supplies to northern Maine as the trade war with the United States drags on, but she says that could change.

Holt made the comment today during the first of weekly briefings aimed at keeping New Brunswickers informed about the province’s response to the economic and emotional fallout from the tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Thank you” is the most understood phrase in the English language.

As soon as we learn to talk, we are taught to say, “thank you.” Those two words are a currency in polite society. They come in many denominations: Huge thanks. Thank you so much. Many thanks. I can’t thank you enough. Thanks for your help. Thanks a million.

Until lately, “thank you” expressed gratitude. I say “thank you” 50 times a week — and that’s just to my wife when she finds something I’ve misplaced.

But if someone punched me in the back of the head and ran off with my glasses, I wouldn’t stare blindly into the middle distance and shout, “THANK YOU!”

That’s what Howard Lutnick wants Canada to do.

Speaking on Fox News from Washington, Premier Ford emphasized that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick offered “an olive branch” and that’s why he’s gone to meet with U.S. officials.

Ford is being interviewed by Canadian John Roberts (nee J.D. Roberts of CityTV’s “New Music” fame in the 1980s). Roberts plays Ford an old clip from “my alma mater CityTV”  from before he was premier, in which he was interviewed by Cynthia Mulligan.

This afternoon, Canada launched a formal complaint at the World Trade Organization on the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, saying they “are inconsistent with U.S. obligations.”

The “request for consultations” filed by Canada gives the two sides 60 days to discuss the situation, and try to avoid litigation.

“After 60 days, if consultations have failed to resolve the dispute, the complainant may request adjudication by a panel.”

VANCOUVER—BC Hydro says Tesla products have been removed from its electric vehicle rebate program as part of the province’s fight back against U.S. tariff threats.

It says on its website that the move is part of the government’s move to give preference to Canadian goods and exclude U.S. goods from rebates if practical.

A message on its website says the exclusion became effective on Wednesday, but Tesla products that were purchased or received pre-approval for rebates before then are still qualified.

The rebate program covers up to 50 per cent of the purchase cost and installation of a home charger, up to a maximum of $350.

President Donald Trump Trump says again today about Canada “we don’t need anything they have…” (Two-way trade is more than $1 trillion annually).

Though when asked about O Canada, Trump admitted: “I love it.”

OTTAWA—Mark Carney’s new cabinet will move Steven Guilbeault from the environment file, move Immigration Minister Marc Miller out of cabinet entirely and keep Mélanie Joly in her foreign affairs post.

Carney and his new cabinet are set to be sworn in Friday morning at Rideau Hall. Multiple sources confirmed the moves to the Star, but spoke on background because they cannot talk about cabinet moves publicly.

Carney’s team has indicated they will have a much smaller cabinet than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s current 36-member team. Seven cabinet ministers have indicated they are not running again.

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – The chief executive of one of Canada’s largest steel producers says it is in discussions with federal and provincial leaders to determine what forms of government support might be available to help offset the Trump administration’s tariffs.

Algoma Steel Group Inc. CEO Michael Garcia says his company is also in the midst of “aggressive” cost cuts as it copes with uncertainty from the ongoing trade war.

Ottawa says it will prioritize investments in projects that primarily use Canadian steel and aluminum as part of its response to the 25 per cent tariffs on American imports of those materials levied by U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

Speaking in Gatineau, Que., Thursday morning, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon told reporters the Canadian government will need to continue considering increased measures to support workers during the trade war with the United States. He said he expects Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney’s first cabinet, which will be sworn in Friday, to focus on dealing with trade with the U.S.

The federal government last week announced a $6.5-billion aid package for workers and businesses caught up in the trade dispute with Washington, while easing EI accessibility requirements.

With the exception of the EI measures, the majority of that package must gain the approval of Parliament in order to take effect.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs have forced iconic Canadian ice cream maker Chapman’s to adjust its operations, but the company doesn’t want customers to shoulder the financial burden.

The company, based in Markdale, Ont., said it’s now looking elsewhere for key ingredients for its products.

“We are actively looking internationally for alternative suppliers of ingredients that are unavailable within Canada,” said Ashley Chapman, the manufacturer’s chief operating officer, in a recent Instagram post on the company’s page.

“As a proud Canadian-owned and operated company, we want to do our part to support Canadians. As a family we have decided to absorb all immediate increases in our costs due to the Trump-tariffs for the rest of the year to maintain our prices.”

Canadians are both anxious and angry with U.S. President Trump’s economic and military threats against our country. A lot of us are also psyched to do something about those threats, such as buying fewer or zero U.S.-made products if possible.

While consumer boycotts probably won’t make a big dent in U.S. corporate revenues, they can send a message and do reputational harm to their targets. That can put pressure on companies to change their actions or, in this case perhaps, to encourage Trump to reverse course on tariffs.

My advice to Canadians going the boycott route is to be strategic about it and don’t be too hard on yourself or other people who aren’t taking part, or cannot.

It is very easy to avoid U.S. alcohol, motorcycles, streaming services like Netflix and Disney+, and eCommerce sites like Amazon. Avoiding U.S. fruits and vegetables and other essential foodstuffs is more difficult. Often U.S. produce is cheaper than the alternatives on the shelf, or it is the only produce available.

BEIJING —U.S. President Donald Trump threw a curve ball at China by linking the fentanyl issue to his tariffs on imports. The Chinese government is swinging back.

First it issued a report detailing its efforts to control the illegal trade in fentanyl, specifically the ingredients for the opioid that are made in China. Then, the Chinese foreign minister blasted the U.S. for responding to Beijing’s goodwill with tariffs. And this week, Chinese officials expressed their indignation at a rare background briefing with journalists.

“In the spirit of humanity, China assisted the U.S. in various ways,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi told journalists last week in an annual appearance before the media. “The U.S. should not meet good with evil or even impose arbitrary tariffs. No responsible major country should do that.”

Federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Thursday morning he has directed his department to prioritize funding for projects that use “predominantly” Canadian steel and aluminum in response to the Trump tariffs.

“Canadian steel and aluminum form the basis of North America’s critical infrastructure and manufacturing base, while supporting vital U.S. industries, including defence, shipbuilding and automotive,” the minister said in a statement. “They are also essential for securing our collective energy future and generate high-quality jobs on both sides of the border.”

It is also not yet clear how a change in government, expected Friday morning, and a looming election, could affect that directive.

The opposition Conservatives have called on the government to green-light pipeline projects made with Canadian steel, while the New Democrats have called for a nation-wide public infrastructure development plan that also uses Canadian steel.

A spokesperson for Champagne said decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis and only in situations where it is possible to use Canadian materials. It is expected to mainly apply to the federal government’s Strategic Innovation Fund, which has so far dished out nearly $10 billion in investments focusing on clean technology, critical minerals and manufacturing.

The minister is currently in Washington, D.C., where he is expected to meet with Trump’s Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick alongside Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

“The US-EU spirits sector is the model for fair and reciprocal trade, having zero-for-zero tariffs since 1997,” says the statement by Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council.

“The U.S. spirits sector supports more than $200 billion in economic activity, 1.7 million jobs across production, distribution, hospitality and retail, and the purchase of 2.8 billion pounds of grains from American farmers,” it says.

“We urge President Trump to secure a spirits agreement with the EU to get us back to zero-for-zero tariffs, which will create U.S. jobs and increase manufacturing and exports for the American hospitality sector. We want toasts not tariffs.”

Trump issued his threat on social media, saying he’d impose a 200% tariff on European wine, champagne and spirits if the European goes forward with a planned tariff on American whiskey on April 1.

Trump called the longtime U.S. ally “one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World, which was formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States.”

He said the 200% tax on U.S. consumption of the European products “will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.”

Mr. Ford has gone to Washington. Again.

Premier Doug Ford is making his third trip to the U.S. capital in the past month against the backdrop of a trade war with President Donald Trump.

Ford’s decision to slap a 25 per cent surcharge on Ontario electricity exports stateside in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs jolted the U.S. administration into inviting the premier to Washington on Thursday.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called Ford and asked for the confab, which led to the surcharge being temporarily paused.

OTTAWA—If you’re looking for a new set of golf clubs for the upcoming season, they may be 25 per cent more expensive due to Canada’s counter tariffs against the U.S. steel and aluminum surcharge.

Matching 25 tariffs on $29.8 billion worth of American goods took effect just after midnight in response to the latest levies from U.S. President Donald Trump.

The extensive list from Canada focuses on American steel and aluminum products, including a wide variety of industrial materials, and are part of the broader counter tariff package expected to expand to $155 billion in goods by the end of the month.

Smartphones are among the consumer electronics hit by the tariffs, alongside video game consoles and audio equipment.

Late night show host Stephen Colbert took aim at President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum in a segment Wednesday night.

The segment on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert featured Colbert drinking from a plastic bag labelled “Sackweiser,” a play on popular American company Budweiser, whose aluminum beer cans are likely to feel the impact of the tariffs.

“This toboggan ride to skid row is all courtesy of Donald Trump‘s on-and-off again tariffs, but today Trump implemented a plan to fight tariffs with more tariffs,” Colbert said as he began his segment, which reaped laughter from the audience.

WASHINGTON—Canadian officials are set to meet with the U.S. commerce secretary in Washington today — days after a dust-up with U.S. President Donald Trump that ended with Ontario pausing its surcharge on electricity exports to the United States.

Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman and Ontario Premier Doug Ford are meeting with Howard Lutnick, and Ford says his goal for the meeting is to get a coherent sense of the Trump administration’s plans for tariffs.

Trump expanded his global trade war on Wednesday by hitting every country, including Canada, with 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum.

OTTAWA—A new poll suggests that 40 per cent of Canadians are worried about losing their jobs as many businesses scale back hiring plans in response to the trade war with the United States.

The Leger poll, which sampled more than 1,500 Canadian adults from March 7 to March 10, suggests that more than half of workers in Ontario were concerned about job security, the highest in the country, while just under one in four in Atlantic Canada said they were worried.

Thirty-nine per cent of people in British Columbia and in Manitoba/Saskatchewan reported they’re worried about losing their jobs, compared to 35 per cent of people in Alberta and 26 per cent of people in Quebec.

U.S. President Donald Trump began his inaugural address Jan. 20 with these words: “The golden age of America begins right now.”

Most Americans do not yet feel they are living in a more prosperous age.

To the contrary, they are afraid that the inflation Trump vowed to destroy will come roaring back. They fear that tens of thousands of jobs are at risk from Trump’s tariffs and massive federal layoffs.

And that the Trump administration will reduce Social Security, Medicaid and veterans’ benefits to close an immense federal budget gap.

In recent weeks, investors spooked by tariff uncertainty have sold off hundreds of billions of dollars in stocks.

Americans are right to be concerned.

LA MALBAIE, Que.—A major foreign-policy summit is underway in Quebec today, with the Liberals welcoming foreign ministers from the U.S., Europe and Japan.

The Group of Seven ministerial meeting is taking place in the Charlevoix region, just as Canada seeks support against damaging American tariffs.

The leaders are set to discuss the functioning of the G7 today, as well as geopolitical challenges ranging from Haiti to Sudan.

Ukraine is expected to loom large over the meetings, with Kyiv saying it would be willing to accept a ceasefire if Russia agrees to certain conditions.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly had formal meetings last night with her counterparts representing the European Union, France and the U.K.

She is set to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio this morning, ahead of an opening statement to media.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Wednesday that Trump believes Canada as an American state makes sense “from an economic standpoint.”

“He says if they became the 51st state, we wouldn’t have to worry about the border and fentanyl coming across because now we would be able to manage that,” said Rubio. “He’s made an argument that it’s their interest to do so. Obviously the Canadians don’t agree, apparently.”

However, Rubio said none of that is on the agenda at this week’s G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Charlevoix, Que.

“That’s not what we’re going to discuss at the G7,” he said. ”They are the host nation, and I — I mean, we have a lot of other things we work on together. We defend North America through Norad and the airspace of our continent together, so — not to mention the issues of Ukraine and other commonalities. So we’re going to be focused in the G7 on all of those things. That’s what the meeting is about. It is not a meeting about how we’re going to take over Canada.”