Canada is responding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated trade war escalations with counter-tariffs against more than 700 American goods amounting to $27.6 billion and rolling out supports for workers affected by the trade war, the federal government said on Tuesday
The value of American goods being tariffed is roughly equal to the value of Canadian goods that fall under the scope of Trump’s sweeping 50 per cent tariffs on Canada
This was done to ensure that “Canada will match the quantum of U.S. Section 338 tariffs dollar-for-dollar,” senior government officials said
Prime Minister Mark Carney met with opposition leaders on Tuesday to discuss “the government’s response to the unjustified U.S. tariffs, including the new measures to support Canadian workers, families, and businesses,” his office said
The Canadian countermeasures will go into effect after the Labour Day long weekend, on Tuesday, Sept. 8
“Our dollar-for-dollar, rate for rate counter-tariffs as well as a multi-billion dollar support package will protect workers, farmers, families, and businesses,” Finance Minister Francois-Phillipe Champagne said
The “vast majority” of the products targeted in the counter-tariffs would have “a substitution possible in a Canadian product,” Champagne said
Industry Minister Melanie Joly urged people to buy Canadian products
“When you choose a Canadian product, you’re not only putting pressure on the U.S., right now you’re protecting jobs,” she said
Joly said she has been in touch with executives at Ford, Honda and Toyota to discuss the impact of Trump’s threat to double auto tariffs on Canada next year
“The threat to the auto industry is real,” Joly said
“While this is all happening, we’ll be smart and we’ll be strategic and will fight for every of these jobs.”
Provincial boycotts of U.S. liquor had been putting “political pressure” on the Trump administration, she added
What are Canada’s retaliatory tariffs?
Canada’s retaliatory tariffs will focus on sectors that are most targeted by U.S. tariffs, such as steel, dairy, furniture, machine equipment, and pulp and paper
The Canadian tariffs will be set at three different rates – 15 per cent, 25 per cent and 50 per cent – to match Trump’s own tariffs on Canadian goods
Get daily National news
Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News’ Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Most steel and aluminum products, furniture, clothing and apparel from the U.S. will be subject to a 50 per cent tariff, while dairy products such as cheese along with fish, seafood, and certain steel and aluminum derivative products facing a 25 per cent tariff
Canada’s existing counter-tariffs on U.S. autos will remain in place
Canada currently faces three different sets of American tariffs. These are the 50 per cent tariffs (Section 338) on a wide range of goods amounting to around $28 billion that Trump imposed on the weekend, sectoral tariffs (Section 232) on steel, aluminum, automobiles and softwood lumber that were imposed last year, as well as 10 per cent tariffs (section 301) owing to a U.S. forced labour investigation that hit earlier this year
How much support will workers and businesses get?
Canada is also launching a $7.5 billion relief package for workers and businesses affected by Trump’s trade war, with a focus on supporting small and medium enterprises
This includes an additional $1.5 billion through the Regional Tariff Response Initiative
These supports will be provided in coordination between the Business Development Bank of Canada and regional development agencies
BDC is also expanding its “pivot to grow” program, helping businesses access financing starting at $250,000 to “help them manage liquidity pressures” through a $500 million liquidity stream, officials said
The government also announced the creation of a Canada Strong Diversification Fund, which will get an injection of $2 billion to help tariff-affected businesses pivot to “shovel-ready projects” within Canada
The Strategic Response Fund, which was launched in September 2025 to support workers and businesses displaced by tariffs, will also provide additional support
The Large Enterprise Tariff Loan, which was launched in March 2025, provides financing for large Canadian businesses affected by U.S. tariffs. Currently, the program covers a liquidity shortfall of 24 months for large enterprises, which will be extended to 36 months to face the uncertainty of a long-haul trade war
The maximum term of the loan will be extended from 10 to 15 years
The government also launched a $3.5 billion suite of programs to support workers and employers, including changes to the Work Sharing Program and Worker Retention Grant to “help businesses prevent layoffs while helping more employees upscale or retrain,” officials said
Under Canada’s Work Sharing Program, employers can allow workers to reduce work hours and become eligible for Employment Insurance benefits for those missing hours. The duration of work sharing agreements will be increased from the current maximum of 78 weeks to 152 weeks
The Worker Retention Grant, which is in effect until March 2027, enables employers to provide an additional allowance to workers who participate in training during their non-work sharing hours
Senior government officials said this grant will be “enhanced.”
The two programs will effectively become “a single, streamlined program designed to be more accessible and generous” and employers will be eligible for additional funds of $1,000 per participants to “cover training and administrative costs.”
The government is also extending special measures to the EI program, including waiving the one-week waiting period before workers are eligible to receive EI
Previously, workers would only start receiving EI payments once they used up their severance or vacation pay. The government is extending special measures that would see workers access EI payments without having used severance or vacation pay
A special EI measure that provides an extra 20 weeks of EI benefits for long-tenured workers will also be extended. This is because long-tenured workers, who have long years of experience in a particular industry, may find it difficult to transition to a new job or sector quickly, officials said
