President Donald Trump has implemented a series of tariffs and threats against Canadian imports throughout his second term, creating significant strain on the long-standing relationship between the two nations. The trade actions have prompted responses from Canada’s government and raised concerns among businesses and consumers on both sides of the border.
Trump’s tariff campaign began on his first day back in office, when he announced expectations for 25% levies on Canadian imports. In February 2025, he signed an executive order imposing those 25% tariffs, citing national emergency powers related to undocumented immigration and drug trafficking. The initial tariffs were subsequently paused and replaced with more limited measures starting in March, though exemptions for automakers and USMCA-compliant goods were later introduced. Steel and aluminum tariffs of 25% proceeded regardless. Canada’s government responded with retaliatory tariffs totaling $29.8 billion Canadian dollars on U.S. imports.
The tariff dispute expanded in subsequent months. Trump announced reciprocal tariffs in April 2025 and implemented 25% levies on auto imports the same month, to which Canada responded with matching rates on non-USMCA compliant vehicles. Additional sectoral tariffs followed, including 50% rates on foreign steel and aluminum in June. Trade tensions intensified again in the second half of 2025, with Trump imposing 35% tariffs on Canadian goods in August and eliminating the de minimis rule for low-value imports later that month. Prime Minister Mark Carney pursued negotiations and agreed to drop several retaliatory tariffs, a move some critics characterized as a concession, though Carney maintained Canada was positioned favorably.
Legal challenges to Trump’s tariff authority eventually reached the Supreme Court, which ruled 6-3 in February to strike down the emergency-powers tariffs, including country-specific levies on Canada. Trump subsequently enacted a temporary 10% global levy using different legal authority. Meanwhile, trade renewal negotiations for the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement began in March, with Canada proposing a 16-year renewal ahead of the July 1 review date. The U.S. declined that timeframe, leaving the agreement in effect through its 2036 expiration date.
Most recently, Trump threatened and then implemented 50% tariffs on approximately $20 billion in Canadian goods, including those previously protected under USMCA. These tariffs took effect Saturday following failed last-ditch negotiations. Carney announced Canada would impose matching import taxes in response. Trump has also made various other threats related to Canadian goods, though some remain unrealized.
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