The White House was emphatic on the rate Canada and Mexico should expect: 25 per cent, a number that premiers, industry and union leaders have warned would devastate Canadian jobs. The Bank of Canada also cautioned that a trade war based on 25 per cent tariffs would trigger a recession.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says tariffs would have “disastrous consequences” for the U.S., putting American jobs at risk and causing prices to rise.