In the news today: Deadline passes for Trump’s tariffs with no relent

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Deadline passes for Trump’s tariffs with no relent

Canadians are waking up to a new and uncertain reality after U.S. President Donald Trump’s deadline for economy-wide tariffs passed with no relent overnight, triggering a continental trade war.

The president’s executive order hitting Canada and Mexico with 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs, with a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy, took effect at 12:01 a.m. ET.

In a statement Monday night, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Trump’s tariffs are “unjustified” and Canada will retaliate with counter-tariffs and other measures.

Canada’s response is to start with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion worth of American products 21 days later.

Trudeau is set to hold a press conference in Ottawa Tuesday morning with Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Public Safety Minister David McGuinty.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Budget to buffer B.C. against U.S. ‘disorder’

British Columbia’s finance minister is preparing to deliver a budget today that she says will brace the province against four years of “uncertainty and disorder” amid the U.S. presidency of Donald Trump.

Brenda Bailey’s budget is being handed down on the same day that Trump says a 25 per cent U.S. tariff will be placed on Canadian goods, while Canadian energy will face 10 per cent tariffs.

Bailey says Trump’s tariffs came “completely out of nowhere” when he announced them last November and they’ve already changed B.C.’s financial circumstances.

The NDP government has cancelled its election promise of a $1,000 grocery rebate and frozen some public-sector hiring as it prepares for what Premier David Eby calls economic warfare by Trump.

The province goes into what could be a protracted North American trade war carrying a record deficit forecast of $9.4 billion this fiscal year.

The tricks to save on U.S. exchange rates

Canadians wondering how best to pay for items in U.S. dollars amid spring break season have several options, with savings on currency conversion all the more critical as the loonie hovers near 22-year lows.

Travel expert Barry Choi says credit cards often offer the most sensible way to spend, charging foreign exchange fees of about 2.5 per cent.

Debit cards from traditional banks might have a fee of 3.5 per cent, while ATM withdrawals in the U.S. include that cost plus a transaction fee of US$3 to US$5.

However, a few online financial institutions offer no-fee debit cards for foreign purchases and even no-fee ATM withdrawals, while several banks have credit cards with no exchange fees.

The Canadian dollar has been trading around 70 cents US since late November, meaning a US$100 charge would now cost more than $144 Canadian — plus the foreign exchange fee.

Border officer union flags staffing shortfalls

The federal union that represents Canada’s front-line customs and immigration officers says it’s worried about staffing levels at the Canada Border Services Agency as the country responds to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.

Trump’s executive order to implement 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian products, with a lower 10 per cent levy on energy, are set to kick in Tuesday.

Despite Canada’s efforts to meet Trump’s demands to boost border security and launch a weeks-long diplomatic push by Canadian officials in Washington, Trump said Monday that the tariffs will take effect as planned.

Mark Weber, national president of the Customs and Immigration Union, said the agency is now short about 2,000 front-line officers.

Weber said the CBSA is short-staffed at some ports of entry and “desperately needs” another training centre.

Auto board ‘fiasco’ biggest scandal in years

The Quebec government is grappling with a controversy that could be the biggest political scandal in the province since the Charbonneau commission, which found deep corruption in the construction industry, observers say.

The fiasco over the digital transformation of Quebec’s auto insurance board, involving half a billion dollars in cost overruns, has dominated headlines in Quebec since the auditor general published a damning report nearly two weeks ago. It has already claimed one minister in the province’s Coalition Avenir Québec government.

On Sunday, Premier François Legault announced he will launch a public inquiry to shed light on the affair, following a steady trickle of news reports suggesting members of his government were aware of problems with the board’s new online platform ahead of its disastrous launch.

“You not only have the right, but you are correct to be angry,” he said on X. “We are going to get to the bottom of things.”

Émilie Foster, an adjunct professor of political management at Carleton University and former CAQ member of the legislature, said Quebec hasn’t witnessed this kind of controversy since the Charbonneau commission — a public inquiry that investigated corruption in the construction sector, such as the infiltration of organized crime in public contracts, and the illegal financing of political parties. The commission delivered its final report in November 2015.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Mar. 4, 2025.

The Canadian Press