Carney hits back at Trump's auto tariffs, warns U.S. trade action will 'rupture the global economy'

Liberal Leader Mark Carney said Thursday U.S. President Donald Trump's move to levy tariffs on virtually every country will "rupture the global economy," torpedo economic growth and prompt devastating consequences for workers and businesses in this country and around the world.

Carney said Trump's tariffs against Canadian goods are "unjustified, unwarranted and misguided," and the country must hit back.

The Liberal leader said the government will levy a tariff on U.S.-made vehicles that are not compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, to match what the Americans did to the Canadian auto industry Wednesday.

Carney said the U.S. trade war is already having an impact — Stellantis will idle its massive Windsor, Ont., auto assembly plant because of Trump's tariffs. Ottawa "will do everything in our power" to protect workers, including with financial assistance, he said.

Carney said Trump is dismantling the world trading system and Canada must make a hard pivot to build up its own economy and pursue better relations with "reliable" trading partners. 

"We must do extraordinary things for ourselves, we must do things previously thought impossible at speeds we haven't seen in generations," Carney said, promising to turbocharge economic development with an ambitious building program.

"We are living in a new world now. It will be hard on Canadians but I have no doubt we will rise to the challenge," he said, explaining that the country has rallied in the past in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and can do it again.