Hello, welcome to Politics Insider, election edition. There are 26 days until voting day. Let’s look at what happened today.
International correspondent Nathan VanderKlippe reports that the U.S. will exempt some elements of North American trade from a 10-per-cent baseline tariff it will impose tonight on most of its international trading partners, in addition to much higher levies on goods from countries such as China and Vietnam.
A sweeping executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump today orders existing tariffs related to a U.S.-declared fentanyl emergency to remain in place for Canada and Mexico, with zero-per-cent levies on goods compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Non-compliant products will continue to be taxed at 25 per cent, with a lower 10-per-cent rate on energy and potash. If the fentanyl emergency is cancelled, the tariff on non-compliant goods will fall to 12 per cent. But other products will continue to see higher tariff rates, including aluminum and steel, as well as vehicles.
A 25 per cent levy “on all foreign-made automobiles” will come into effect on midnight tonight, Trump said at a news conference at the White House.. He did not specify any exemption for vehicles made in Canada, or elsewhere in North America.
In Ottawa, Prime Minister Mark Carney was scheduled to chair a late-afternoon meeting of the cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. Relations and National Security. The cabinet will decide what countermeasures Ottawa will impose on the United States.
During a campaign stop in Winnipeg earlier this week, Carney reiterated what he told Trump last Friday: “We will put in place some retaliatory measures if there are additional measures put against Canada.”
Vehicles enter the United States from Canada at the border crossing known as the Peace Arch Border Crossing in Blaine, Wash., April 2, 2025.David Ryder/Reuters
Elsewhere on the campaign trail
Poilievre defends campaign against critics, will continue to focus on affordability, illegal drugs: Critics including Kory Teneycke, campaign manager for Ontario Premier Doug Ford, have predicted Poilievre will lose the federal election unless he quickly pivots and responds to Canadians’ fear and anxiety over the U.S. President’s economic war against Canada.
Alaska state resolution set to affirm Canadian sovereignty in rejection of U.S. threats: Republican Representative Chuck Kopp of Alaska, which shares a border with the Yukon and is separated from the contiguous U.S. by Canada, says the state doesn’t support the president’s trade war and annexation bid against Canada.
Canadian pharmacist group urges Ottawa to remove drugs from potential retaliatory tariffs list: The Canadian Pharmacists Association says that if tariffs on drugs are levied by the U.S. or Canada, it doesn’t expect any immediate medication shortages and that the drug supply is stable.
More Canadians with Iranian backgrounds stopped from entering the U.S.: Global Affairs Canada is facing fresh calls from immigration lawyers to update its U.S. travel advisory, warning Canadians and residents of Canada born in Iran and other countries such as Syria and Afghanistan that they could face intense questioning or be denied entry or detained.
On our election radar
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet focused on softwood lumber issues in a day of campaigning that included stops in the city of Causapscal and the eastern Quebec town of Amqui.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre delivered a speech in Toronto, and held an evening rally in Kingston, Ont.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May campaigned in her Saanich-Gulf Islands riding in British Columbia. Meanwhile Jonathan Pedneault, her co-leader, was campaigning in the Montreal riding of Outremont riding where he is running.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney, in his role as Prime Minister, chaired a virtual meeting of the Prime Minister’s Council on Canada-U.S. Relations. Carney also chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Canada-U.S. Relations and National Security.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Winnipeg, announced a response plan to U.S. tariffs, met with Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson and Keewatin Tribal Council, and joined a picket line with local workers.
Question period
Who played Olivia Chow in Jack, the 2013 biopic broadcast on CBC, about the late federal NDP leader Jack Layton?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
Why is the Bloc Québécois vote collapsing in Quebec? Because Canada is in danger
The Liberal Leader has appropriated the Quebec nationalist slogan, “Maîtres chez nous,” but every Quebecker can see that he’s not exactly from “chez nous.” And it doesn’t seem to matter. At all. Why not? Two words: Donald. Trump.
— Tony Keller, Columnist
Mark Carney stumbles through his rookie-politician week
The fact that Mr. Chiang resigned, rather than being given the boot, is still a knock on Mr. Carney’s leadership, although it stanches the bleeding. Still, for days Mr. Chiang was the Liberal story, rather than, for example, the housing policy Mr. Carney unveiled Monday.
— Campbell Clark, Chief Political Writer
Mark Carney poses a threat to national unity
But whether politicians, the media, or voters in central Canada realize it or not, the greatest future threat to national unity is emerging not from Quebec, but on the Western front – again, revealed by the recent Pollara survey.
— Preston Manning is the former leader of the Reform Party of Canada and a former leader of the Opposition.
Go deeper
- Stay informed ahead of voting day with the latest updates
- 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: Filmmaker and broadcaster Sook-Yin Lee played Chow, who was married to Layton, who died in 2011, aged 61. Chow is now Toronto’s Mayor. In Jack, the NDP leader is played by actor Rick Roberts.