Canadian Prime Minister Carney calls Trump's auto tariffs a 'direct attack' on his country
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that President Donald Trump's auto tariffs are a 鈥渄irect attack鈥� on his country and that the trade war is hurting Americans, noting that American consumer confidence is at a multi-year low.
Trump said earlier Wednesday that he was placing 25% tariffs on auto imports and, to underscore his intention, he stated, 鈥淭his is permanent.鈥�
鈥淭his is a very direct attack,鈥� Carney responded. 鈥淲e will defend our workers. We will defend our companies. We will defend our country.鈥�
Carney said he needs to see the details of Trump's executive order before taking retaliatory measures. He called it unjustified and said he will leave the election campaign to go to Ottawa on Thursday to chair his special Cabinet committee on U.S. relations.
Carney earlier announced a CA$2 billion ($1.4 billion) 鈥渟trategic response fund鈥� that will protect Canadian auto jobs affected by Trump鈥檚 tariffs.
Autos are Canada鈥檚 second-largest export. Carney noted the sector employs 125,000 Canadians directly and almost another 500,000 in related industries.
鈥淐anada will be there for auto workers,鈥� he said.
Trump previously granted a one-month exemption on his stiff new tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada for U.S. automakers.
The president has plunged the U.S. into a global trade war 鈥� all while on-again, off-again new levies continue to escalate uncertainty.
Video below: Mark Carney addresses Trump, saying 'we cannot let him succeed'
The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its U.S consumer confidence index fell 7.2 points in March to 92.9, the fourth straight monthly decline and its lowest reading since January of 2021.
鈥淗is trade war is hurting American consumers and workers and it will hurt more. I see that American consumer confidence is at a multi-year low,鈥� Carney said earlier while campaigning in Windsor, Ontario ahead of Canada鈥檚 April 28 election.
The tax hike on auto imports starting in April means automakers could face higher costs and lower sales.
Trump previously placed 25% tariffs on Canada鈥檚 steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products 鈥� as well as on all of America鈥檚 trading partners 鈥� on April 2.
鈥淗e wants to break us so America can own us,鈥� Carney said. 鈥淎nd it will never ever happen because we just don鈥檛 look out for ourselves, we look out for each other.鈥�
Carney, a former two-time central banker in Canada and the U.K., made the earlier comments while campaigning against the backdrop of the Ambassador Bridge, which is considered the busiest U.S.-Canadian border crossing, carrying 25% of all trade between the two countries. It plays an especially important role in auto manufacturing.
Carney said the bridge carries $140 billion Canadian dollars ($98 billion) in goods every year and CA$400 million ($281 million) per day.
"Now those numbers and the jobs and the paychecks that depend on that are in question," Carney said. 鈥淭he relationship between Canada and the United States has changed. We did not change it.鈥�
In the auto sector, parts can go back and forth across the Canada-U.S. border several times before being fully assembled in Ontario or Michigan.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose province has the bulk of Canada鈥檚 auto industry, said auto plants on both sides of the border will shut simultaneously if the tariffs go ahead.
鈥淭he president is calling it Liberation Day. I call it Termination Day for American workers. I know President Trump likes to tell people 鈥橸ou're fired!鈥� I didn鈥檛 think he meant U.S. auto workers when he said it,鈥� Ford said.
Trump has declared a trade war on his northern neighbor and continues to call for Canada to become the 51st state, a position that has infuriated Canadians.
Canadians booed Trump repeatedly at a Carney election rally in Kitchener, Ontario.
The new prime minister, sworn in March 14, still hasn鈥檛 had a phone call with Trump. It is unusual for a U.S. president and Canadian prime minister to go so long without talking after a new leader takes office.
鈥淚t would be appropriate that the president and I speak given the action that he has taken. I鈥檓 sure that will happen soon,鈥� Carney said.
Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said the tariffs will damage American auto workers just as they will damage Canadian auto workers.
"The message to President Trump should be to knock it off," Poilievre said. 鈥淗e's changed his mind before. He's done this twice, puts them on, takes them off. We can suspect that may well happen again.鈥�