Trump’s trade war with Canada: A timeline of how we got here

January 2025: President Donald Trump, upon taking office, announced his intention to impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from Canada, set to begin on February 1st.

February 2025: Trump signed an executive order to enact the 25% tariffs on Canadian imports, utilizing a national emergency declaration ostensibly related to undocumented immigration and drug trafficking. Canada's then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to reciprocate with matching tariffs on up to $155 billion worth of American goods. However, this threat was short-lived as Trump agreed to a 30-day suspension of the tariffs, thereby reducing immediate tensions.

March 2025: Trump's 25% tariffs on Canadian imports took effect on March 4th, though he limited the levy to 10% on Canadian energy. In response, Trudeau announced retaliatory tariffs on over $100 billion worth of American goods over the span of 21 days. However, Trump granted a one-month exemption for U.S. automakers' tariffs and later postponed his 25% tariffs on goods compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade pact from his first term.

This action managed to somewhat ease relations with Canada, suspending a second wave of retaliatory tariffs for a period, although uncertainty remained.

March 12, 2025: Trump's new steel and aluminum tariffs — imposing a 25% tax on both metals — became effective. Consequently, Canada implemented further retaliatory tariffs worth $29.8 billion Canadian dollars ($20.7 billion) on U.S. imports, starting March 13th.