"President Trump is at it again," Ontario Premier Doug Ford stated after the U.S. president made a long-awaited tariff announcement.
On Wednesday afternoon, Donald Trump signed an executive order that announced sweeping 25 per cent tariffs on automobiles and auto parts that are not produced in the United States.
A release from the White House clarified that vehicles brought into the U.S. under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) will only be taxed on their non-American parts.
Ford responded to Trump's order with a post to social media, stating that "Canada needs to stand firm, strong, and united."
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Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was in a previously scheduled meeting with Unifor National President Lana Payne when Trump announced the new tariffs.
He called the levies "a direct attack" on Canada's auto industry and auto workers.
"We will defend our workers, we will defend our companies, we will defend our country, and we will defend it together," Carney stated.
He added that the federal government does have plans for more retaliatory tariffs against American goods and reiterated the promise that the money collected from those tariffs will go to support Canadian workers.
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Trump's auto tariff will take effect on April 2.
