Canada to announce loans, benefits as part of domestic response to U.S. tariffs: source

Canada’s government on Tuesday will announce a range of measures to “protect and support” its workers and businesses in response to 50 per cent U.S. tariffs which were applied to about US$20 billion of its annual exports on Saturday.

Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, Industry Minister Melanie Joly, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu and Evan Solomon, the minister for artificial intelligence, will hold a press conference to outline measures at 11 a.m. Ottawa time, the Finance Department said Monday.

Domestic measures will include expanded jobless benefits, people familiar with the planning said, asking not to be named because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly. Officials will also roll out loans for businesses affected by the tariffs, one of the people said — akin to coronavirus-era economic support programs. The government is calling it the “One Canadian Economy Agenda,” that person added.

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On Saturday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada would retaliate with “dollar-for-dollar” counter-tariffs in areas including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics. That pledge has already prompted a threat from President Donald Trump to escalate by increasing automobile tariffs against Canadian vehicles and parts.

Carney had a slightly more nuanced message at a press conference on Monday.

“The American economy is much, much bigger, at least for the time being, than the Canadian economy,” he said in French, according to a live translator. “Because of this, it will be difficult to have dollar-for-dollar — always difficult to carry out dollar-for-dollar retaliation, so we might go the more targeted way,” before adding “everything is on the table.”