Chrystia Freeland pitches tariff response plan that would target U.S. businesses

Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland answers questions from journalists as she makes her way to a meeting of the Liberal caucus, in West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

OTTAWA — Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland said Monday that Canada can avoid massive U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods by scaring the Americans away from the idea.

In a media statement, the former finance minister called on the federal government to release a list of $200 billion in retaliatory tariffs to prepare for U.S. President Donald Trump to make good on his threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports.

She said Ottawa must immediately consult with industry and put together a detailed, dollar-for-dollar retaliation plan that targets prominent American imports such as Florida oranges, Wisconsin dairy products and Michigan dishwashers.

“Donald Trump is using uncertainty to unsettle Canadians. We must do the same,” she said in a statement emailed to supporters. “U.S. exporters need (to) worry whether their businesses will be the ones we hit.”

Freeland, who is seeking to frame herself in the Liberal leadership race as the candidate best able to deal with Trump, is calling for a “buy Canadian” response to tariffs that would threaten to cut the U.S. off from Canadian government procurement, with the exception of defence.

Rival leadership candidate Mark Carney told Radio-Canada over the weekend that Canada should retain the option of cutting off Quebec’s hydro exports to the U.S. -- although that’s not the first card he would play.

Trump recently mused about slapping 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian exports to the U.S. as soon as Feb. 1.

Ottawa has opted to keep its full list of retaliatory countermeasures secret for now, and is instead trying to make the case directly to American consumers that tariffs would increase prices.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Parliament Hill last Thursday that if the U.S. does move ahead with the tariffs, his government is ready to respond and that every option remains on the table.

“Our efforts are first and foremost to make sure that tariffs don’t come on Canada,” he said. “If they do move forward on tariffs, we are ready to respond in a strong way, but in a way that will be stepping up gradually with one goal ... to figure out how to get them removed as quickly as possible.”

Liberal leadership candidates only have hours left to sign up party members who can vote in the race; the cutoff deadline is set for 5 p.m. Monday.

They face a Thursday deadline to pay the party a non-refundable $50,000 entry fee.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2025.

By Kyle Duggan

THE CANADIAN PRESS