Trump’s planned 25% tariffs on Canadian goods went into effect at midnight on Tuesday. Canadian retaliatory tariffs on $155 billion of U.S. goods went into effect on Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. In a statement, Trudeau said of the U.S. tariffs that “there is no justification for these actions,” adding that his government had taken multiple steps to stop the flow of fentanyl to the U.S. Trump’s reasoning for implementing the tariffs is to force Canada to take stronger action to stop the flow of fentanyl over the border.

Last year, fentanyl seizures at the northern border accounted for 0.2% of total fentanyl seized by Customs and Border Protection. There has also been a 97% drop in fentanyl seizures at the Canadian border in January compared to December 2024.

“Our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. trade action is withdrawn, and should U.S. tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures,” he said. “While we urge the U.S. administration to reconsider their tariffs, Canada remains firm in standing up for our economy, our jobs, our workers, and for a fair deal.”

Trudeau warned that Trump’s tariffs would cause inflation and cost American jobs.

“Tariffs will disrupt an incredibly successful trading relationship,” he said. “They will violate the very trade agreement that was negotiated by President Trump in his last term.”

Trudeau’s approval has steadily declined in the last few years as Canada’s economy has suffered since COVID-19. The Liberal Party was so unpopular that Trudeau announced he would step down as leader and prorogue parliament until another Liberal leader was chosen, with a deadline set for March 9. However, since the tariff battle started and Trudeau has voiced his willingness to respond in full to Trump’s threats, the Liberal Party’s approval has bounced back.

Six weeks ago, Conservatives led Liberals in popularity polls by 26 points and were on track to gain a supermajority in parliament with 240 out of 343 seats. Now, Liberals are leading Conservatives in the polls for the first time in four years, according to an Ipsos finding from Feb. 21-24.

“In hindsight, when the Conservatives had a 27-point advantage in our polling, it didn’t have anything to do with Pierre Poilievre being strong or liked, or the Conservatives being brilliant strategists,” Nik Nanos, founder of Canadian polling firm Nanos Research, told Fox News. “It all had to do with dislike of Justin Trudeau and people wanting change and the Conservatives being the agent of change.”

Eighty-nine percent of respondents said they want a federal election “immediately” and a government with a “strong mandate” to fight back against Trump. Conservative leader Poilievre has tried to distance himself from Trump and vowed a forceful response to Trump’s tariffs, but voters still appear to couple his “Canada First” populism with an affinity for Trump.

The United States and Canada are each other’s biggest trade partners, with hundreds of billions of dollars worth of imports and exports each year. Canada is also the main source of U.S. energy imports.

According to data from the Canadian government, it supplied 61% of U.S. crude oil imports in 2021. In 2020, it supplied the U.S. with 98% of natural gas imports, 93% of electricity imports, and 28% of uranium purchases.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on Monday that he would cut off energy exports to the U.S. as retaliation against the tariffs.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT TRUMP’S TARIFF THREAT AGAINST MEXICO AND CANADA

“They rely on our energy. They need to feel the pain. They want to come at us hard. We’re going to come back twice as hard,” Ford said while at a mining convention in Toronto.

While the U.S. economy would be hurt by Canadian retaliatory measures, the Canadian economy would be devastated by Trump’s plan. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce warned that 25% U.S. tariffs could send the Canadian economy into a recession by the summer, according to Politico.