As I have consistently said, tariffs against Canada will put your jobs at risk, potentially shutting down American auto assembly plants and other manufacturing facilities. They will raise costs for you, including food at the grocery stores and gas at the pump. They will impede your access to an affordable supply of vital goods, crucial for U.S. security such as nickel, potash, uranium, steel and aluminum. They will violate the free trade agreement that the president and I, along with our Mexican partner, negotiated and signed a few years ago.
But it doesn't have to be this way. As President John F. Kennedy said many years ago, "geography has made us neighbours, history has made us friends, economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies."
That rang true for many decades prior to President Kennedy's time in office and in the decades since. From the beaches of Normandy, to the mountains of the Korean Peninsula, from the fields of Flanders, to the streets of Kandahar, we have fought and died alongside you.
Together we've built the most successful economic, military and security partnership the world has ever seen, a relationship that has been the envy of the world. Yes, we've had our differences in the past, but we've always found a way to get past them.
Unfortunately the actions taken today by the White House split us apart instead of bringing us together.
Canada is home to bountiful resources, breathtaking beauty and a proud people who've come from every corner of the globe to forge a nation with a unique identity worth embracing and celebrating. We don't pretend to be perfect but Canada is the best country on Earth. There's nowhere else that I and our 41 million strong family would rather be, and we will get through this challenge just as we've done countless times before, together. Thank you. Merci. Vive le Canada.
-- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressing media following the announcement of a raft of tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump against Canada, Mexico, and China (2 February 2025)
