Trending 
US President Donald Trump escalated the trade war with Canada on Tuesday by issuing executive orders that ban Canadian alcohol imports and hike tariffs on a range of manufactured goods.
Starting September 15, Washington will impose a 50 per cent surcharge on Canadian products, including mattresses, motorboats, and golf carts, followed by a total import ban on alcoholic beverages and select dairy products on September 29.
Trump also moved to bar Canadian firms from bidding on lucrative US government contracts and threatened to block sales of Quebec-based Bombardier Aviation unless the aerospace giant relocates its manufacturing operations to the United States.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney held firm in response to the aggressive US measures, defending Ottawa’s retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion worth of American steel, aluminium, and dairy products.
Addressing the nation, Carney acknowledged that pivoting Canada’s economy away from the United States will carry short-term financial costs but insisted that the benefits of protecting national sovereignty and domestic workers outweigh the pain.
To shield vulnerable manufacturing sectors and workers from the fallout, the Canadian government unveiled a $5.4 billion economic support package while Canadian officials assess Washington’s latest trade restrictions.
The trade conflict has intensified since bilateral negotiations collapsed in late August when US representatives made late demands targeting Canadian trade policies and cultural protections.
Despite Canada’s economic reliance on the US market—which accounts for roughly 70 per cent of Canadian exports—public opposition to Washington’s aggressive rhetoric and territorial posturing continues to mount across the country.
Meanwhile, American lawmakers from states hosting Canadian manufacturing facilities, such as Kansas, have expressed growing concern over potential US job losses and raised their objections directly with the White House.
