Original Publish Date » March 27 , 2025
Last Updated » 4 weeks
Highlights
- ‘We can control our destiny’
- Focus changes to Trump’s auto import taxes
- We must ‘fundamentally reimagine our economy’
Quote of the day
- “It’s like a monkey with a machine gun”
– Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, had that to say about the Trump administration’s approach to import taxes.
CBC’s Poll Tracker shows the probability of the Liberals winning a majority is 69%, compared to 1% for the Conservatives.
The Numbers
» Liberal lead in polls (CBC Poll Tracker – March 27, 2025)
- National polling continues to favour the Liberals as the party moves deeper into majority territory. The Conservatives have more support than they did in the last election but are no closer to forming government as the NDP and Bloc vote shifts to the Liberals, consolidating their position as the heavy favourite to win an election if one were held today.
» Internal polling for Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives suggests Mark Carney’s Liberals lead Pierre Poilievre’s federal Conservatives by double digits in Ontario. A new Campaign Research survey found Carney’s Liberals at 48% public support while Poilievre’s Tories were at 33%, Jagmeet Singh’s New Democrats at 11% and the Greens of co-leaders Elizabeth May and Jonathan Pedneault at 4%. (Toronto Star)
» New Abacus Data Poll: Liberals take the lead » Abacus had the Conservatives ahead last week. If the election were to be held today, Abacus see the Liberals opening up a 1-point lead over the Conservatives among all committed voters — 38% would vote Liberal, compared with 37% who would vote Conservative. The NDP is down to 11%. Since last week, the Conservatives are down 2, the Liberals are up 2 and the NDP is down 1. (Abacus Data)
» Abacus Data CEO David Coletto discusses how Canadians perceive the federal leaders (Video » CPAC)
» Amid plunging polls, these NDP voters are seriously considering Mark Carney’s Liberals (Toronto Star)
» Four days into a federal election campaign against the backdrop of Trump’s threats against Canada, national polls suggest a strong dip in NDP support while Mark Carney’s Liberals enjoy a resurgence in voting intentions.
» Mark Carney, Trump’s threats, and the ‘Anything But Conservative’ are the top factors driving the Liberal surge (Angus Reid)
Trade War
‘We can control our destiny’ » Prime Minister Mark Carney on weathering the US import tax storm
» Canada’s ‘old relationship’ with U.S. ‘is over’ amid Trump import taxes » In response to Trump’s auto import taxes, Prime Minister Carney said Canada must “fundamentally reimagine our economy” in the face of escalating tariffs imposed by U.S.. He added that the “old relationship” between Canada and the U.S. is “over.” Carney promised to bring retaliatory measures, reduce internal trade barriers and pivot Canada’s economy away from reliance on the U.S., after Trump announced new auto tariffs that will begin next week. (Global News / BBC)
» Amid fresh tariff threat, Prime Minister Mark Carney is taking a break from the federal election campaign as he is back to Ottawa for a closed-door huddle with the cabinet committee on Canada – US relations.(CP / iPolitics)
- Prime Minister Carney calls Trump’s tariffs on vehicles ‘a direct attack’ on Canada and its autoworkers (Globe and Mail)
- On the same day that Liberal Leader Mark Carney unveiled his plan to protect the domestic autoworkers, Trump announced a sweeping 25% import tax on all cars not made in the US (National Observer)
» After launching an unprovoked and illogical attack on the world with global auto import taxes, Trump said in a middle-of-the-night social media post early Thursday that he would come after Canada and the European Union if we banded together to “do economic harm” to the US » “If the European Union works with Canada in order to do economic harm to the USA, large scale Tariffs, far larger than currently planned, will be placed on them both in order to protect the best friend that each of those two countries has ever had!” (Reuters / NYT)
- At this afternoon’s press conference, when asked about Trump’s Canada-EU cooperation treats, Prime Minister Mark Carney replied, “I take note of the president’s comment. I don’t take direction from it.” he added,”Canada is a sovereign country” and will act as such.
» New auto tariffs are straining relations with the US and deepening doubts about America’s reliability as a partner. The Trump White House has made clear that it will use every tool of American power, including its military support and consumer market, to extract what Trump sees as a better deal for Americans. (NYT)
Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada said on Wednesday that Trump’s move was “a direct attack.” Other leaders reacted in muted terms, hinting that they were still considering how to respond, with another round of tariffs expected in early April.
“We need to consider what’s best for Japan’s national interest,” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba of Japan told Parliament on Thursday. “We’re putting all options on the table in considering the most effective response.”
» Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he’s in full support of retaliatory tariffs after Trump announced a new 25% import tax on cross-border auto trade. “We’re going to make sure that we inflict as much pain as possible to the American people without inflicting pain on the Canadian population,” Ford said at Queen’s Park on Wednesday. (CBC)
» Canada’s auto sector braces for ‘chaos and damage’ from Trump tariffs
- Brian Kingston, president and CEO of the Canadian Vehicles Manufacturing Association, said, “U.S. tariffs on vehicles and parts will have immediate negative consequences for the highly integrated North American automotive industry. The result is higher costs for manufacturers, price increases for consumers, and a less competitive industry.” (Global News)
- N.B. Premier Susan Holt says U.S. auto tariffs will affect New Brunswick businesses (Global News)
» Germany “will not give in” and is asking Europe to “respond firmly” as Trump targets imported cars and car parts with a 25% import tax. France’s president branding the move “a waste of time” and “incoherent” and China accusing Washington of violating international trade rules. Carmaker stocks from Japan to Germany dipped. In the US, GM dropped 7%, while Ford fell more than 2%. (BBC // Video » Global News)
» Governments from Tokyo to Berlin and Ottawa to Paris have voiced sharp criticism of Trump’s sweeping import taxes on car imports. (The Guardian)
» Airline travel between Canada and the US is “collapsing” amid Donald Trump’s tariff war, with flight bookings between the two countries down by over 70%
» According to data from the aviation analytics company OAG, airline capacity between Canada and the US has been reduced through October 2025, with the biggest cuts occurring between the months of July and August, which is considered peak travel season. Passenger bookings on Canada to US routes are currently down by over 70% compared to the same period last year. (The Guardian)
» A growing number of travellers are worried about feeling unwelcome or unsafe in the US and are reluctant to support the economy of a country that may be destabilizing other nations. The onslaught of contested policies and language by the Trump administration in recent weeks is causing tourists around the globe to either cancel or reconsider travel to the US. (NYT)
On The Campaign Trail
» Pierre Poilievre does his best to miss the point on foreign interference. His argument was that he doesn’t want to be muzzled on what he can say about the government. But he also doesn’t want to know what’s happening inside his own party. (Globe and Mail)
» Mike de Jong, one of B.C.’s longest-serving MLAs, will be running as an Independent in the federal election, after the Conservative Party rejected him as a candidate earlier this month. de Jong has been a MLA for the B.C. United party for more than 30 years. (CBC)
Also
» Jason Stanley, a Yale professor who studies fascism, is leaving the US to work at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. He worries the US is at risk of becoming a “fascist dictatorship”. Stanley wrote the 2018 book How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them. (The Guardian / CBC)
» Canada’s most wanted fugitive – Dave “Pik” Turmel – arrested in Italy (CBC)
Elsewhere
» A major priority for Kyiv in recent ceasefire negotiations with the United States in Saudi Arabia involved the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported to Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Eurovision News on March 26.(Kyiv Independent)
» France and Britain will forge ahead with plans to deploy troops in Ukraine to secure an eventual peace deal with Russia. “These reassurance forces are a French-British proposal,” Macron said. “It is desired by Ukraine and noted by several member states that have expressed their willingness to join. It is not unanimous. That is known. Besides, we do not need unanimity to achieve it.” (AP / Ukrainska Pravda)
» The Trump administration is ramping up pressure on Ukraine with a fresh draft of an economic deal that demands greater concessions from Kyiv just as Washington’s efforts to get Russia to agree to a cease-fire have stalled. The draft proposal is for Ukraine to surrender future profits from a swath of economic projects to compensate the US for financial and military assistance since the start of the war in 2022. (WSJ)
» European leaders had hoped that Vice President JD Vance’s antagonism was a political show to build domestic support. Now, after Vance expressed disdain for Europe in a private text chat about Yemen attack details, officials are coming to terms with a vocal vice president whose antipathy for Europe appears to run deep. (WSJ)
» Turkey deports BBC reporter Mark Lowen who was detained in Istanbul after reporting on unrest prompted by the arrest of a rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (BBC / BBC / The Guardian / NYT)
» China is already filling gaps left by Trump’s USAID shutdown in developing countries (Business Insider)
The Americans
» Trump says US will ‘go as far as we have to’ to get control of Greenland (Reuters / RTÉ / The Guardian / BBC)
» Trump reveals just how clueless he is on basic intel (New Republic)
» Maine school officials won’t comply with Trump administration agreement to bar transgender athletes (AP)
» Marco Rubio says someone made a ‘Big Mistake’ adding journalist to Signal war chat. (The Daily Beast)
- Experts Call Use of Signal ‘Unbelievably Poor’ Security Practice. Sloppy. Incompetent. A Danger to National Security (The Dispatch)
- Signalgate: violating national security. A familiar risk to a rule-based republic, such as our own, is when the government claims that it must violate our rights in the name of national security. (Timothy Snyder)
» Signal Chat Leak Angers U.S. Military Pilots (NYT)
» Trump pulls Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination to be U.N. ambassador – to remain in the House, where Republicans have a razor-thin majority. (NBC)
» Trump appears out of the loop in his own White House (MSNBC)
