Mark Carney started charging Americans today. His counter-tariffs cover C$27.6 billion of US goods across 629 tariff lines — 50 percent on steel, aluminium products, furniture and apparel, 25 percent on appliances and dairy including cheese, 15 percent on electronics and tools. Ottawa matched Washington good for good, answering the American tariffs imposed under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. "When the United States asked too much and offered too little, we chose to stand up for Canadians," Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said.
Carney taped a video address to the country hours later. "In the spring of last year, I warned that America is trying to break us so they can own us," he said. "And I promised that that will never, ever happen." Canadians have "everything we need to pivot and prosper," he said, then priced it: "That pivot will come at a cost... But it doesn't come close to the cost of standing still." He added: "I don't believe in escalating the conflict, that's not constructive. But our tariffs are necessary to protect our workers, protect our companies." Ottawa put C$7.5 billion behind the businesses about to feel it.
Ohio pays first — $3.3 billion of tariff-covered goods shipped north last year, steel high on the list. Illinois follows at $2.7 billion, Pennsylvania $2.3 billion. Harley-Davidson, which builds there, sells about 7,400 motorcycles a year in Canada, worth roughly US$215 million. Ottawa pulled about $1 billion of seafood off the list first. That one would have landed on Maine.
