Politics

United States President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress in a televised speech on Tuesday, six weeks into a tumultuous term during which he has upended decades of U.S. foreign and domestic policy and stretched the limits of the presidency. Here are some takeaways from Trump’s 100-minute-long speech: Foreign policy gets short shrift The opening weeks of Trump’s presidency have been dominated by foreign policy, with several cabinet members engaging in furious shuttle diplomacy throughout Europe and the Middle East in a bid to wind down the Ukraine war and the conflict in Gaza. Story continues below advertisement But you wouldn’t know it from Trump’s speech on Tuesday, which was focused almost entirely on domestic aff...

Canada’s spy agency warns that colliding global developments make the Arctic an “attractive, strategic and vulnerable destination” for foreign adversaries seeking to establish a presence in Canada. A newly released Canadian Security Intelligence Service assessment flags the environment, critical infrastructure, economic activity and geopolitics as converging factors making the region susceptible to threats from abroad.It sees resource extraction projects, increasing ship traffic, the building of ports and possible militarization of the Arctic as some of the avenues nefarious actors could use to gain a foothold in the region.Once established in the North, rivals could use these opportunities to “generate substantial influence and interference opportunities,” CSIS warns. ...

Canada is vowing to fight back against U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs that went into effect Tuesday, and potash could become a potent weapon in the growing trade war — but economists are urging caution. Potash is a key ingredient in fertilizer, and roughly 85 per cent of the supply used by American farmers comes from Canada — particularly Saskatchewan, where potash is a major export market.U.S. farming groups and even some Republicans aligned with Trump have called for potash to be exempted from the blanket tariffs out of concern for the agricultural industry.Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters Tuesday that Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe should consider no longer selling potash, uranium and oil to the United States and instead find different markets.“We need to make su...

Descrease article font size Increase article font size U.S. President Donald Trump may announce a deal with Canada and Mexico on Wednesday that sees the countries “meet in the middle” on tariffs, his commerce secretary said after the president launched a trade war Tuesday. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox News Trump will “work something out with them” after imposing 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods and 10 per cent levies on Canadian energy. Canada launched retaliatory tariffs shortly afterward, with Mexico promising to do the same. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. ...

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she supports Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s response after the United States launched a trade war with Canada early Tuesday. “Now is the time for us to unite as a province and a country,” Smith said in a statement.At 12:01 a.m. ET, U.S. President Donald Trump’s promised 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian exports took effect. Canadian energy is being hit with 10 per cent tariffs.At a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, Trudeau said Canada will counter the tariffs by imposing 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs on $30 billion worth of U.S. products, and added that will grow to another $125 billion in U.S. goods in 21 days.Smith called Trump’s tariffs “an unjustifiable economic attack on Canadians and Albertans.”“They also represent a clear breach of the trade ...

The push for Canada to send more of its oil and natural gas to markets outside of the United States intensified Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump pressed ahead with a 10 per cent levy on energy imports. “This crisis demonstrates the clear and urgent need to build more natural resource infrastructure,” said the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, which represents conventional oil and gas producers.“A bold and necessary action that the Canadian government should take to respond is to build retaliatory pipelines to diversify our economy to other markets beyond the United States, growing our economic power and supporting Canadian values.” Lisa Baiton, president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), called for an urgent policy overhaul to allow v...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said Ottawa is hitting back against U.S. President Donald Trump‘s tariffs against Canada. In a press conference held in Ottawa, he called Washington’s trade action “very dumb” and vowed to “hit back hard” as the country retaliates to try and get the tariffs lifted as soon as possible.Here is a transcript of his remarks, including the English interpretation where he spoke in French.Trudeau: So today the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend. At the same time, they’re talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying, murderous dictator.Make that make sense.Canadians are reasonable and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight — not when our cou...

As the United States pauses military aid to Ukraine amid a deepening rift between the two nations, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reaffirmed Canada’s unwavering support for Kyiv, drawing a stark contrast with Washington. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Trudeau said the U.S. seems to be aligning more with Russia amid the ongoing war, emphasizing that Canada continues its support for Ukraine and will not waver in standing against Russian aggression.“We know who our friends are, we know who our opponents are. And there is no question that Vladimir Putin and his attack, not just on Ukraine, but on the rules-based international order, on the founding principles of the United Nations, is an opponent of Canada,” Trudeau said.“Today the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closes...

By Allison Jones and Liam Casey The Canadian Press Posted March 4, 2025 11:11 am 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size Ontario’s main liquor store has begun removing U.S. alcohol from its shelves and website in response to tariffs imposed on Canadian goods by U.S. President Donald Trump. Premier Doug Ford’s office says he directed the Liquor Control Board of Ontario Tuesday morning to stop selling American alcohol. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. ...

China announced Tuesday it will impose additional tariffs of up to 15 per cent on imports of key U.S. farm products, including chicken, pork, soy and beef, and also expanded controls on doing business with key U.S. companies. The tariffs announced by the Commerce Ministry are due to take effect from March 10, though goods already in transit will be exempt until April 12. They follow U.S. President Donald Trump’s order to raise tariffs on imports of Chinese products to 20 per cent across the board. Those took effect on Tuesday, along with 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico.Imports of U.S. grown chicken, wheat, corn and cotton will face an extra 15 per cent tariff, a notice by the ministry said. Tariffs on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, seafoods, fruit, vegetables and dair...