B.C. to remove all red state liquor from store shelves #CanadaFinance

Buckle up. The threat of U.S. tariffs has landed and it’s elbows up for Canada.

Follow along for the latest developments throughout the day.

11:30 a.m.: B.C. salmon farmers fear American demand could decrease up to 40 per cent

B.C. salmon farmers are bracing to lose up to 40 per cent of their American demand, due to the U.S. tariffs implemented Tuesday.

According to the B.C. Salmon Farmers, about 70 per cent of B.C.’s farm-raised samon production goes to American customers, but that demand could shrink by 32 to 40 per cent in light of the U.S. tariffs.

“The B.C. salmon farming sector is already operating in an unprecedented environment of business uncertainty due to current federal decisions actively discouraging technological and job investments,” read a statement issued by the organization.

“Tariffs will place another substantial and unnecessary burden on Canada’s already threatened salmon farming sector.”

The impact of the U.S. tariffs could result in what’s estimated to be a more than $131.5 million drop in revenue for salmon farmers.

10:05 a.m.: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to meet with premiers Tuesday afternoon

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that he will be meeting with the premiers Tuesday afternoon to talk about potential non-tariff responses. Trudeau said some provinces are looking at blocking American companies from bidding on publicly funded contracts.

He did not mention a proposal from Ontario Premier Doug Ford to shut down electricity exports to the U.S.

Canadian officials and premiers made a month-long diplomatic push in Washington after Trump originally signed the executive order, which tied the duties to the illegal flow of people and drugs across the northern border.

Trudeau said that Canada’s response to border and fentanyl concerns was “well received” by American officials and now Trump is ignoring his own justification for the tariffs.

Trudeau said that Trump has not hidden his desire to use the tariffs as a means to crush the Canadian economy and annex Canada. The prime minister said that Canada is ready to fight and win.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows the number of people and drugs crossing illegally into the United States from Canada is minuscule compared to the volume coming across the southern border. It reports just 13.6 grams of fentanyl seized by northern Border Patrol staff in January.

Trump previously said the delay would allow time for an “economic” deal and on Monday suggested Canada and Mexico should “build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case you have no tariffs.”

Trump said he also plans to implement 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports coming into the U.S. on Mar. 12. These duties would be on top of any existing tariffs.

-The Canadian Press.

10 a.m.: Stock markets in Canada and U.S. fall at start of trading Tuesday

President Donald Trump’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.

“Tariffs, 25 per cent on Canada and 25 per cent on Mexico, and that’ll start,” Trump said Monday at the White House, sparking an immediate response from Wall Street. “They’re going to have to have a tariff.”

Stock markets in Canada and the U.S. fell at the start of trading Tuesday, continuing the plunge that began late Monday after the U.S. confirmed tariffs were coming.

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 386.72 points at 24,614.85 in early trading.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 409.58 points at 42,781.66. The S&P 500 index was down 40.78 points at 5,808.94, while the Nasdaq composite was down 95.81 points at 18,254.38.

-The Canadian Press.

9 a.m.: B.C. to remove all ‘red state’ liquor products from store shelves immediately

B.C. will remove all “red state” liquor products from store shelves immediately, as the first step in responding to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which came into effect on Tuesday.

“As the President has repeated many times, he wants to make Canada the 51st state. Canada will never be the 51st state,” said Eby during a news conference on Tuesday morning. “We didn’t ask for this fight that the President has brought to Canada, and to British Columbia.

“But I’ll tell you this: We’re not going to shrink. The President wants to hurt Canadians, he wants to hurt British Columbians, then we have no choice but to respond in kind.”

Eby’s comments came during an address Tuesday morning that took place at the province’s budget lockup. His address was also livestreamed online.

It’s the second time B.C. has pulled liquor products from “red” Republican states from B.C. Liquor shelves in the continuing trade war.

Eby went on to thank British Columbians who have been focused on buying local or Canadian products, and encouraged them to continue to do so. He also urged Canadians to cancel their U.S. travel plans and to choose a local or Canadian destination instead.

“I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to hear Canadian businesses … talk about the spike in business that they’ve seen from British Columbians,” he said. “We can keep that going.”

8:45 a.m.: Trudeau says the U.S. has launched a trade war, Canada is fighting back

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that the U.S. has launched a continental trade war and Canada is fighting back.

Speaking directly to U.S. President Donald Trump, Trudeau says enacting the tariffs “is a very dumb thing to do.”

Canada is immediately imposing 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs on $30 billion worth of American products, and will expand that to cover another $125 billion in U.S. goods in 21 days.

Trudeau also says that Canada will file claims with the World Trade Organization and through the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement.

Trudeau says that the federal government will be there to support Canadians “no matter the cost,” including with enhancements to employment insurance and measures to protect businesses from potential “predatory” takeovers.

While Trump’s order imposing the tariffs references national security concerns about drugs and illegal immigration at the Canadian border, in a post today on Truth Social he says that if companies move to the U.S. there will be no tariffs.

-The Canadian Press.

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