Canada’s Trudeau says Trump will raise prices for Americans if he follows through on tariff threats

Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau said Friday if President-elect Donald Trump follows through the threat of massive tariffs on Canadian productshe would raise prices for Americans and hurt American businesses.

Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if the countries do not stop what he calls the flow of drugs and migrants across the southern and northern borders. He said he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the United States from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders.

“It’s important to understand that when Donald Trump makes these statements, he intends to follow through on them. There’s no doubt about that,” Trudeau told reporters on Canada’s Prince Edward Island in the Atlantic Ocean.

“It’s our responsibility to point out that not only would he hurt Canadians who do so well with the United States, but he would actually raise prices for American citizens and hurt American industry and business,” he added.

Trudeau said Trump was elected because he promised to lower grocery costs, but now he’s talking about adding 25 percent to all kinds of products, including potatoes from Prince Edward Island.

Those tariffs could essentially blow up the North American trade pact Trump’s team negotiated during his first term in office. Trudeau noted that they were able to successfully negotiate a deal that he called a win-win for both countries.

“We can work together like before,” Trudeau said.

Trump threatened tariffs on Monday to crack down on the influx of illegal migrants, though the numbers on the Canadian border pale in comparison to the southern border.

The US Border Patrol made 56,530 arrests at the Mexican border in October alone and 23,721 arrests at the Canadian border between October 2023 and September 2024.

Trump also reprimanded fentanyl from Mexico and Canada, although seizures at the Canadian border are few compared to the Mexican border. U.S. Customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border.

Canadian officials say Canada’s merger with Mexico is unfair, but they are open to new investments in border security.

“We will work together to address some of the concerns,” Trudeau said. “But at the end of the day, I will have many real constructive conversations with President Trump that will allow us to move forward on the right path for all Canadians.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday that she is sure of it tariff war with the US will be prevented. Trump posted on social media that he had spoken with her and that she had agreed to stop unauthorized migration across the border into the United States.

When Trump imposed higher tariffs in his first term, other countries responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own. For example, Canada announced billions in new tariffs against the US in 2018 in response to new tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.

Canada is already looking into possible retaliatory tariffs on certain goods from the United States if Trump follows through on his threat to impose comprehensive tariffs, a senior official told The Associated Press this week.

A government official said Canada is preparing for any eventuality and has begun thinking about which items to retaliate with tariffs. The official emphasized that no decision has been made. The person wished to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

US business groups were quick to sound the alarm rapidly increasing inflation. House Democrats drafted legislation to strip the president of the ability to unilaterally impose tariffs so steep, warning they would likely lead to higher prices for cars, shoes, housing and groceries.

Canada is a major export destination for 36 US states. Almost $2.7 billion worth of goods and services cross the border every day.

Canada is also the largest supplier of foreign steel, aluminum and uranium to the US and has 34 essential minerals and metals that the Pentagon wants to mine and invest in for national security.