Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what happened today.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned U.S. President Donald Trump for launching a trade war against Canada, warning the country that punitive tariffs will be costly and offering relief measures to help Canadian workers and businesses.
Across the country, premiers, opposition leaders, the business community, unions and others reacted with anger and concern to the measures introduced by the Trump administration. In Toronto, Ontario Premier Doug Ford confirmed that, as a result of the U.S. tariffs, the province will rip up a $100-million deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink internet provider and ban American companies from procurement contracts.
Although he hopes to talk to Trump, Trudeau said at a news conference in Ottawa that he is not sure what can be done to change the President’s mind.
“What he wants to see is a total collapse of the Canadian economy because that will make it easier to annex us,” he said. “That is never going to happen. We will never be the 51st state.”
However, challenges loom, Trudeau added. “To my fellow Canadians: I won’t sugar coat it. This is going to be tough.”
In Washington, David Paterson, Ontario’s trade representative, said Canada is in for a “tough time for a period” as tariffs take effect on both sides of the border, but that it isn’t time to panic.
Check here for live updates by Globe and Mail staff on the trade conflict.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at a news conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly, left, Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc, and Minister of Public Safety David McGuinty, in response to U.S. tariffs on Canada, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on March 4.Justin Tang/The Globe and Mail
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What else is going on
Point Roberts starts to feel the cold shoulder from Canada: Business in the tiny pene-exclave south of Vancouver has been anything but typical since U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose hefty tariffs on Canadian imports, putting a chill on neighbourly relations.
Alberta appoints former judge to probe health contracts after allegations of interference: Raymond Wyant, a former chief judge of the Provincial Court of Manitoba, has been named to review the circumstances around which the Ministry of Health and Alberta Health Services procured children’s medicine and chartered surgical facilities, according to the terms of reference.
Ottawa pauses preventive health care task force amid review over breast cancer screening recommendations: Federal Health Minister Mark Holland had ordered an external review of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care, and says the external panel has finished gathering evidence and is now finalizing its proposals to “modernize and improve” the task force.
Quebec auto board ‘fiasco’ could be the largest scandal since Charbonneau commission: The fiasco over the digital transformation of Quebec’s auto insurance board has dominated headlines in Quebec since the Auditor-General published a damning report nearly two weeks ago.
Perspectives
Trump’s tariff threat was never about fentanyl. Canada just got Zelenskyed
The scene last Friday in the Oval Octagon, when Mr. Vance and Mr. Trump tag teamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and tried to slam him as a threat to Americans, is a portent of things to come. Canada, get ready to be Zelenskyed. Come to think of it, we already have been.
— Tony Keller, Columnist
Canada is more alone than ever
In all this uncertainty, one thing is beyond doubt: The U.S. is now a protection racket, providing security only to countries that give it something in return – critical minerals, oil and gas, obeisance, invitations to meet a king – and will leave those who fail to adequately grovel, or refuse to repeat American lies, or who won’t pass a cash-stuffed envelope to the beefy guy who comes by the store once a month, at the mercy of strongmen like Mr. Putin.
— The Globe and Mail Editorial Board
There is a method to Donald Trump’s madness
Canada’s position is unique. It needs to combine full participation in continental defence with credible resistance to annexation.
— Ann Fitz-Gerald, the director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs and a professor of political science at Wilfrid Laurier University. Dan Ciuriak is a senior fellow at the Centre for Governance Innovation.
On our radar
- Prime Minister’s Day: Justin Trudeau held a news conference in Ottawa on Parliament Hill, accompanied by Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Public Safety Minister David McGuinty. Later, he held a virtual meeting with provincial and territorial premiers.
- Party Leaders: On Parliament Hill, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre held a news conference and was scheduled to attend an evening party fundraiser at a private residence in Toronto. Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh held news conferences on Parliament Hill.
- Liberal leadership race: Mark Carney, in Calgary, was scheduled to take media questions ahead of a meeting with supporters.
Question period
In what city was O Canada, Canada’s national anthem, written?
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
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The answer to today’s question: Quebec City. Quebec’s lieutenant-governor commissioned the song for the 1880 St. Jean Baptiste Day celebrations. Calixa Lavallée wrote the music. Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier wrote the French lyrics. Various English-language versions were sung over the years, leading to the standard English lyrics written in 1908 by Robert Stanley Weir.