Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what happened today.
The U.S. will impose punitive new tariffs on Canada beginning Saturday, the White House said today.
The commitment makes good on repeated pledges by President Donald Trump to tax goods from his country’s biggest trading partners – 25 per cent on Canada and Mexico and 10 per cent on China.
“The tariffs are incoming tomorrow on Canada,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said today.
Ahead of the White House announcement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in Toronto that Canada’s response to the expected tariffs would be “forceful but reasonable,” though he did not elaborate.
Elsewhere today, the federal government announced it will delay the planned tax increase on capital gains to Jan. 1, 2026.
The move clears up uncertainty heading into tax season but could worsen the fiscal bottom line for both Ottawa and the provinces.
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What else is going on
Federal Conservatives raised record-setting $41.7-million in 2024: The Elections Canada filings show the Liberals raising $5-million in the final four months of 2024, for a year-end total of $15.2-million. The NDP’s totals were not yet public this morning.
Nearly 400,000 people signed up to vote in the Liberal leadership race: The number of registered Liberals has nearly quadrupled since Jan. 6, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his intention to resign.
Mark Carney promises to scrap carbon pricing if he becomes prime minister: At a news conference today, Carney said carbon pricing has worked but has become too divisive.
Canada should target Tesla and U.S. alcohol in a tariff fight, Chrystia Freeland says: In an interview with The Canadian Press, Freeland called for “very targeted, very surgical, very precise” measures in response to U.S. tariffs.
Federal cabinet ministers sued over delay in protecting B.C.’s orcas: Conservation groups in B.C. are targeting Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault in the legal action.
Perspectives
The top two jobs for Ontario’s next premier
Cheap populism won’t address Ontario’s big problems. If the next premier wants to be able to claim in four years to have done that, they will need to focus on the direct threats to provincial prosperity: housing and transportation.“
— The Globe and Mail Editorial Board
Canada spent decades sleepwalking into a productivity crisis. Now U.S. President Donald Trump is giving us a reason to wake up."
— Rita Trichur, Senior Business Writer and Columnist
The unwavering confidence of the Liberals’ longshot outsider
Frank Baylis spent one term in the House of Commons and didn’t think much of it. “The yelling, the screaming, the shuffling of papers back and forth,” he said. He found Parliament’s workings “unacceptable.”
— Campbell Clark, Chief Political Writer
On our radar
- Trudeau in Toronto: The Prime Minister chaired a meeting of the Council on Canada-U.S. Relations and delivered remarks to the media.
Question period
Which of the three former premiers on the Council on Canada-U.S. Relations, created by the Trudeau government, held office for the longest period of time?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Go deeper
- Keep track of who’s in the Liberal leadership race to replace Justin Trudeau
- Follow along for our stories on Canada-U.S. relations as news develops
- Like a long read? Check out the fall of Justin Trudeau and the making of Pierre Poilievre
- Take a look at the history of immigration reporting and great political scandals from A Nation’s Paper, a book about The Globe and Mail’s role in Canadian history
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
The answer to today’s question: Jean Charest, who was Quebec premier from 2003 to 2012. Stephen McNeil was the premier of Nova Scotia from 2013 to 2021, and Rachel Notley was Alberta premier from 2015 to 2019.