Canadians' support for counter-tariffs dips, but still strong as trade war persists
Canadians continue to support retaliating against United States President Donald Trump's wave of tariffs, but their fervour has waned as the trade war wears on.
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Seven in 10 Canadians still favour counter-tariffs even if they increase the cost of goods imported from the U.S., according to a poll conducted by Nanos Research Group for Bloomberg News. That's down from almost eight in 10 in January.
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Atlantic Canada was the region that most favoured counter-tariffs, with 81 per cent expressing some form of support. The Prairies expressed the least support (67 per cent).
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The Prairie provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta recently said they would resume buying and distributing American alcohol to retailers, months after they halted purchases in response to Trump's tariffs. U.S. booze remains banned from government-store shelves in many other provinces, including Ontario.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney's government scaled back its retaliatory tariffs in April, leaving about 70 per cent of its counter-measures in place. That means Canada currently has 25 per cent levies on about $42 billion in imports from the U.S., plus some tariffs on automobiles.
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Carney held off on retaliating further in response to Trump's doubling of tariffs on steel and aluminum last week. The prime minister has said he sees progress in trade talks between the U.S. and Canada, but new counter-measures remain an option.
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Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said last week that the levies aren't yet having a significant impact on prices. 'The retaliatory tariffs put in place, that is not yet in the consumer price index data that we have,' Macklem said. 'You will see that start to come in the months ahead.'
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