Politics·Updated
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrapped up a call with his U.S. counterpart midday Wednesday, and there are expected to be more discussions between the two leaders’ teams throughout the afternoon.
Talks between 2 sides to continue throughout the afternoon
John Paul Tasker · CBC News
· Posted: Mar 05, 2025 11:48 AM EST | Last Updated: 15 minutes ago
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, holds a press conference at Canada House in London on Sunday. Economists say the Canadian economy is poised to plunge into a recession this year if U.S. tariffs that took effect Tuesday morning remain in place. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on Monday. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press, Pool/The Associated Press)Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrapped up a call with his U.S. counterpart midday Wednesday, and there are expected to be more discussions between the two leaders’ teams throughout the afternoon.
It’s the first time the two have spoken since U.S. President Donald Trump launched a trade war yesterday with devastating tariffs on all Canadian goods.
The exact details of what Trudeau and Trump discussed are not yet known.
A spokesperson for Trudeau would only say they spoke about “trade and fentanyl.”
A senior government official told CBC News that the call lasted 50 minutes and Vice-President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were also on the line.
The official said discussions between the two sides will continue throughout the afternoon.
WATCH | Trump defends tariffs in speech to Congress, Canada responds:
Trump defends tariffs in speech to Congress, Canada fights back
U.S. President Donald Trump justified imposing 25 per cent tariffs on Canada in a lengthy speech to Congress, a move Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had earlier described as ‘very dumb.’
In a social media post after the call, Trump said he told Trudeau that Canada’s work to tamp down on fentanyl was “not good enough.”
The U.S. government’s own data shows Canada is not a significant source of illegal fentantyl with less than 20 kilograms of the drug seized at the northern border last year. A $1.3-billion border plan launched last year has led to steep declines so far this year.
Canadian border officials actually captured more drugs coming in from the U.S. than what their American counterparts caught going south, according to data from both countries.
Despite his gripes, Trump said the call with Trudeau ended in a “somewhat friendly manner.”
Trump said he was puzzled about why Trudeau couldn’t say when the next federal election would be, saying it “made me curious, like, what’s going on here?”
There’s a simple explanation for why the prime minister couldn’t say when that vote will happen — it isn’t Trudeau’s decision to make.
The choice of when to go to the polls will fall to his successor, who will be named at Sunday’s Liberal leadership event.
Canada is trying to get Trump to back down from his plan to effectively torpedo free trade between the two countries. Trump is supposedly looking to make some changes to the trade action he took just 24 hours ago.
Trump’s steep 25 per cent levy on virtually all Canadian goods has rattled markets and consumer confidence on both sides of the border.
The call comes as the federal government grapples with the usual chaotic situation out of Trump’s Washington. The president’s advisers suggested at different points over the last 12 hours that there could be a compromise on tariffs, only to say later that tariffs will still apply but maybe at a lower rate.
After U.S. stock market plummeted once Trump slapped tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Lutnick appeared on Fox News Business Tuesday saying he’s working on a plan to “meet in the middle” on tariffs, without offering any clarity on what exactly that means.
Speaking to Bloomberg Television on Wednesday morning, Lutnick said “there will be tariffs, let’s be clear.”
“But what we’re talking about is what sections of the market he’ll maybe consider giving them relief until we get to April 2,” he said, referring to Trump’s plan to impose even more tariffs next month on countries he thinks are ripping off the U.S.
Lutnick says Canada, Mexico ‘trying their best’Lutnick said the president may land “somewhere in the middle” because Mexico and Canada are “trying their best,” suggesting the U.S. tariff rate may be lower than the current 25 per cent.
Canada doesn’t want any tariffs at all and will push for a full removal to restore free trade, Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said.
In an interview with CBC’s The National late Tuesday night, LeBlanc said Canada is “not interested in some sort of reduction of the tariffs. We want the free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico respected.”
U.S. tariffs and Canadian counter-tariffs will make everything from groceries to manufactured goods to housing even more expensive. (CBC)He said Canadians are rightfully angry, frustrated and insulted by Trump’s abusive trade actions, and that means the government won’t settle for half measures.
“We’re not interested in meeting in the middle,” LeBlanc said in an interview with CBC Radio’s The Current Wednesday morning.
LeBlanc said Canada’s retaliatory tariffs could be lifted if the U.S. shows some goodwill.
“If the Americans want to talk to us in a constructive way about how we could lift the tariffs, remove them and get back to building an economy that works for both countries, we can,” he said.
In his address to Congress last night, Trump doubled down on the value of tariffs, including on allies like Canada.
“Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again, and it is happening and it will happen rather quickly. There will be a little disturbance, but we are OK with that,” he said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J.P. Tasker is a journalist in CBC’s parliamentary bureau who reports for digital, radio and television. He is also a regular panellist on CBC News Network’s Power & Politics. He covers the Conservative Party, Canada-U.S. relations, Crown-Indigenous affairs, climate change, health policy and the Senate. You can send story ideas and tips to J.P. at jp.tasker@cbc.ca
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