Trump’s tariff war could collapse B.C.’s struggling forest industry
B.C.’s forest industry is already in serious trouble, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff war is pushing it closer to the brink of collapse. CBC’s Lyndsay Duncombe breaks down what’s at stake for lumber producers and how they’re looking to adapt.
The Latest
U.S. President Donald Trump is set to outline his global tariffs policy at 4 p.m. ET.Prime Minister Mark Carney is back in Ottawa to plan Canada’s response.Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was in Toronto, where he promised to create a “targeted” fund to support workers hit by tariffs.Poilievre picked up an endorsement from an Ontario Progressive Conservative cabinet minister amid reports of infighting in the conservative movementTrump is an “arsonist” setting fire to the global economy, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said at a campaign stop in Winnipeg.What questions do you have about tariffs and the Canada-U.S. trade war? Send an email to ask@cbc.ca.Updates
April 2
12 minutes ago
A deep dive into federal party leaders’ assets
Jenna Benchetrit
With so much political intrigue around the major party leaders’ assets, my colleague Elizabeth Thompson dug into what each of them have disclosed publicly — from stock options to mortgages to second homes — and which rules they’re governed by.
Some of the highlights:
Carney held $6.8 million US worth of unexercised stock options in Brookfield Asset Management as of Dec. 31 (the company’s shares have dropped since then, so they might be worth less now). The PMO won’t say if Carney — who was chair of the company’s board before he became Liberal leader — exercised the options, sold them or put them into his blind trust. Beyond the trust, Carney has said his assets include cash, a family home and a cottage. Poilievre’s most recent financial disclosure showed investments in six exchange-traded funds (ETFs). His spokesperson said he sold his foreign assets to buy Canadian ones, and he now invests in two Canadian ETFs. He also collects rental income and has a mortgage with Scotiabank.Singh’s and Blanchet’s financial disclosures don’t list any publicly traded assets. Singh owns a home in B.C., as does his wife — and Blanchet owes an unknown amount of money to Revenu Québec. Read the full story here.
32 minutes ago
Tariffs timeline
Lucas Powers
A timeline of the trade war so far. (CBC News)If you are having a hard time keeping track of all of Trump’s tariff threats and deadlines — as I imagine most of us are — here’s a play-by-play to help you get caught up, courtesy of the CBC News graphics team.
40 minutes ago
Caroline Mulroney endorses Poilievre amidst conservative infighting
Catherine Cullen
Pierre Poilievre scored an endorsement that pushes back on some of the talk of infighting in the conservative movement.
Caroline Mulroney, a cabinet minister in the Ontario Progressive Conservative government, introduced Pierre Poilievre at his morning speech in Toronto, endorsing his run for prime minister.
Mulroney repeatedly invoked her father, the late prime minister Brian Mulroney, saying that both he and Poilievre understood the importance of standing up for Canada.
She argued Poilievre’s plan for the country is the right one, “not because of Donald Trump’s tariffs but in spite of him.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s campaign manager recently called out the federal Conservative campaign for not focusing on dealing with Donald Trump. Both Ford and Poilievre have denied reports of tension between them, but one Conservative source told CBC News this week the situation was like a “civil war” in conservative circles.
In his speech, Poilievre said, “some Liberal supporters and lobbyists” have asked why he keeps focusing on the cost of living, rather than exclusively on Trump — perhaps a tacit shot back at Conservatives publicly criticizing him.
His answer was that he is determined to help Canadians living what he described as “lives of quiet desperation.”
55 minutes ago
Ford hits the U.S. media circuit
Jenna Benchetrit
Ford speaks to U.S. media as Canada braces for Trump’s tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump is set to announce broad tariffs against many countries on what he’s calling Liberation Day. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Canada will retaliate “appropriately but hard.”
The Ontario premier was back on American TV this morning to talk tariffs. Doug Ford rarely agrees to one-on-ones with Canadian media, but he has become a ubiquitous presence on U.S. network television in the last few months.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Ford said on CNBC’s Squawk Box. “President Trump’s attacking [the U.S.’s] No. 1 ally, their No. 1 customer.”
Host Andrew Ross Sorkin pressed Ford on why the two sides haven’t reached an agreement if, as the premier has said, Canada is willing to remove its tariffs as soon as the U.S. does.
Ford’s response? “Andrew, let me be very clear. We didn’t start this tariff war. A tariff on Canada is a tax on Americans.”
The premier said he hopes there’s room to negotiate, “because if we don’t sit across the table, this just escalates. We need to bring the heat down right now and come with common sense solutions.”
1 hour ago
B.C.’s lumber sector is already hurting
Lyndsay Duncombe
Mike Egli says his business, Dalchako, relied heavily on Canfor’s Plateau sawmill in Vanderhoof, B.C. (Benoit Ferradini/Radio-Canada)I’m a senior reporter for CBC National News based in Vancouver.
Uncertainty around tariffs is making it really hard for Canadian forestry businesses to plan for the future.
Mike Egli runs Dalchako, based in Vanderhoof, B.C. He employs more than 100 people. It’s what they call a stump-to-dump operation: they cut trees, build the roads, process the wood and transport it to the mill.
Late last year, Canfor closed the Plateau mill in Vanderhoof — axing 260 jobs. That means Delchako now hauls logs more than an hour away — to Canfor’s Prince George mill. But Egli isn’t sure how long that will last, given that softwood lumber is already subject to duties. Those duties are expected to go up, and any new tariffs could mean more closures and job losses.
1 hour ago
Poilievre outlines ‘red lines’ he’s unwilling to cross
Catherine Cullen
Good morning. I’m the host of CBC’s The House podcast and a co-host of the election podcast House Party.
As Jenna described below, Pierre Poilievre fleshed out his plan today to deal with Trump’s economic threats. He pledged to create a targeted, temporary fund that would allow businesses hit by tariffs to keep workers attached to their jobs and ensure they continue to receive paycheques.
He wants to try to accelerate renegotiation of the CUSMA deal, set to take place next year. Poilievre proposed that both countries could drop tariffs during the negotiation process. While such a move would likely be welcomed by Canadians, it’s unclear how the Conservative leader would convince Trump to back off his much-loved tariff strategy.
Poilievre outlined “red lines” that he was unwilling to cross if he was running the country — saying protection of supply management, the auto sector and Canada’s fresh water are crucial, as is maintaining Canada’s law, currency, official languages and laws.
The Conservative leader also took a shot at his main rival’s selling point — Mark Carney’s past experience dealing with economic crises, saying “a resume is not a plan.”
In an effort to elevate today’s plan beyond the ordinary campaign announcement, the Conservatives billed Poilievre’s event in Toronto as a “keynote speech.” However, Poilievre was not speaking at a conference or before a club, but rather before a crowd hand-picked by the Conservatives.
1 hour ago
Poilievre hasn’t reached out to anyone in U.S. administration
Jenna Benchetrit
Poilievre says he has not contacted anyone in U.S. executive administration
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, speaking from Toronto on Day 11 of the election campaign, is asked what efforts he’s making to build his relationship with the Trump administration, and whether he enlisted Conservative MP Jamil Jivani to get in touch with his friend, U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance. Poilievre said he’s been careful not to do anything to divide Canada’s voice when communicating with the executive branch of the U.S. government and has made no contact.
Poilievre hasn’t spoken to anyone in the U.S. administration, he told reporters in Toronto. Explaining why, the Conservative leader said, “I’ve been operating with the rule of one prime minister at a time.”
While he said he’s had strong disagreements with both former prime minister Justin Trudeau and current Prime Minister Mark Carney, “They occupy that office.”
“I’ve been very careful not to do anything to divide Canada’s voice when communicating with the executive branch of the United States government,” said Poilievre.
Liberal cabinet ministers, premiers and mayors have visited the U.S. frequently in recent months to advocate for Canada in the face of U.S. tariffs. Conservative MP Jamil Jivani, a college friend of Vice-President JD Vance, attended the U.S. inauguration in January.
The Liberals have tried to link Poilievre unfavourably to Trump — and vice versa, with Poilievre saying that Carney has much more in common with Trump than he does.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith threw a wrench in that approach recently, having told a right-wing media outlet that Poilievre is “in sync” with the new U.S. administration.
2 hours ago
The latest Poll Tracker update
Lucas Powers
Seat projections as of April 2, 2025, from the CBC Poll Tracker. (CBC)Here are the latest public polling developments as summed up by Éric Grenier of TheWrit.ca. He is managing the CBC Poll Tracker throughout the campaign.
From Éric:
“The gap between the Liberals and Conservatives continues to grow as the Liberals gain more support from the NDP and Bloc Québécois.
“With growing leads in Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada and British Columbia, the Liberals would win a big majority government if an election were held today, with all other parties likely to suffer seat losses.”
2 hours ago
NDP outlines plan to prioritize workers during trade war
Jenna Benchetrit
Comparing Trump to a ‘storm,’ Singh says Canadians know how to navigate bad weather
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also called U.S. President Donald Trump ‘an arsonist’ who’s setting fire to the Canadian economy, while contrasting the NDP to Mark Carney’s Liberals and Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives.
The NDP leader is in Winnipeg today, where Singh is talking about the party’s plan to protect workers from Trump’s trade war. Behind him are a group of unionized workers from the Laborers’ International Union of North America.
Singh, calling Trump “an arsonist,” said the U.S. president is “setting fire to the economy — his own economy, and ours as well.”
Pledging to prioritize workers in the face of Trump’s tariff threats, Singh repeated promises to expand employment insurance, favour Canadian unionized workers on infrastructure projects and remove the GST from essential goods.
2 hours ago
Singh’s reception out West
Janyce McGregor
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh meets with Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew on Tuesday. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)Hello, I’m a senior reporter following the NDP campaign.
In Western Canada, the NDP governs in two provinces (B.C. and Manitoba) and is the Official Opposition in the other two (Alberta and Saskatchewan). During federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s first Western swing this week, did we see any laying on of hands from successful provincial New Democrats?
His meeting with Premier David Eby in Victoria on Monday was a late addition to his itinerary. The timestamps on camera footage suggest the meeting lasted about 15 minutes. (In Eby’s defence, it was a hectic day for him, as the legislature debated B.C.’s 11th-hour retreat from carbon pricing ahead of its scheduled April 1 increase.)
At Singh’s next stop in Edmonton Tuesday, Singh spoke with Alberta’s NDP Leader (and former Calgary mayor) Naheed Nenshi, but only on a Zoom call because Nenshi was in Calgary.
The NDP tour skipped over Saskatchewan (which hasn’t elected a New Democrat MP since 2015) and flew onwards to Winnipeg that afternoon. Reporters and cameras were allowed into the foyer of the legislature to watch Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew greet Singh.
Kinew and Singh spoke briefly and, within a minute, the pair disappeared up the side stairs to meet privately.
Provincial leaders have been stingy with their endorsements so far in this unpredictable and volatile campaign — finding it politically safer, perhaps, to stay in their own lanes and pledge to work with whomever voters pick. But if there was ever a race where the federal NDP could use a public endorsement from a popular premier, surely it’s this one, as Singh continues to trail badly in national polls.
