The 25% tariff on goods from Canada would be signed straight after he took office on 20 January 2025, Trump said on Monday.
He described the move as an effort to get the three other countries to toughen up on the illegal flow to the US of people and drugs, specifically fentanyl.
Ford, the leader of Canada’s most populous province, said the proposed tariff would be “devastating to workers and jobs in both Canada and the US”.
He called on the government to “take the situation at our border seriously”, and for Trudeau to “call an urgent meeting with all premiers”.
Ford was echoed by the leaders of Quebec and British Columbia, while a post on the X account of Alberta leader Daniella Smith acknowledged that Trump had “valid concerns related to illegal activities at our shared border”.
Other voices urged calm. “We’ve gamed out the possibilities that he lumps Canada and Mexico issues together, we’ve been there before,” said the head of Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA) in a statement reported by CBC. “We are prepared and connected.”
Tariff hikes touted by Trump on the election trail could be a negotiating strategy, it has previously been suggested by the man picked by the US president-elect to be his new US Treasury secretary.
“My general view is that at the end of the day, he’s a free trader,” Scott Bessent said of Trump in an interview with the Financial Times before he was nominated for the role. “It’s escalate to de-escalate.”