Trudeau took to social media to announce the delay of tariffs, citing 'new commitments'
Photo: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Canadians can now breathe a sigh of relief – for now.
President Donald Trump has agreed to pause the planned implementation of tariffs for 30 days.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to X, formerly Twitter, late Monday afternoon to break the news.
“I just had a good call with President Trump. Canada is implementing our $1.3 billion border plan,” Trudeau wrote. “[We’re] reinforcing the border with new choppers, technology and personnel, enhanced coordination with our American partners, and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl.”
“Proposed tariffs will be paused for at least 30 days while we work together,” Trudeau wrote.
The prime minister added that approximately 10,000 frontline personnel will be working on protecting the border, along with “new commitments.”
One of these commitments is appointing a “Fentanyl Czar” to help deal with the amount of fentanyl through the Canadian-US border, one of the key issues that originally sparked Trump’s tariff threats.
Trump and Trudeau met via phone call briefly Monday morning to discuss the tariffs Trump has threatened on Canada, Mexico and China since being elected to office on January 20.
On Saturday, Trump announced that 25 per cent tariffs would finally be put in place on all Canadian imports, starting Tuesday.
Trudeau retaliated on Sunday with similar tariffs on the US.
Mexico president Claudia Sheinbaum said early Monday she would immediately send 10,000 soldiers to the U.S. border to prevent drug trafficking, fentanyl in particular, from Mexico. Trump paused tariffs on Mexican imports for 30-days shortly after.
The US president took to his own social media, Truth Social, to announce that he was "very pleased" Canada has a plan in place to secure the northern border.
However, he called this just an "initial outcome."
“I am very pleased with this initial outcome, and the Tariffs announced on Saturday will be paused for a 30 day period to see whether or not a final Economic deal with Canada can be structured,” Trump wrote. “FAIRNESS FOR ALL!”
