Canadian New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh appeared on CNN on Monday, where he stated that he would impose a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum imports from the United States in response to potential trade actions from President Donald Trump.
“The first step is going to be dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs… No one wins in these trade wars. But this is not a fight that we wanted to pick. We were happy to continue to have a strong relationship. Donald Trump has picked this fight, so we’re going fight back.”
Singh also announced an even stronger measure aimed directly at Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk.
“We’ve announced today, what I would do is put in place a 100 percent tariff on Tesla directly targeting Elon Musk.”
He accused Musk of aligning too closely with U.S. political interests, adding: “Elon Musk is probably touting this idea of the 51st state, so let’s hit back at Elon Musk.” Beyond targeting Tesla with tariffs, Singh suggested taking additional steps to cut off access to key resources vital for electric vehicle production. “I also said we should shut down the supply of critical minerals, another move that targets Elon Musk and his Tesla company.”
He noted that Canada plays a crucial role in supplying materials essential for battery production and that restricting those exports could be an effective tool in trade negotiations.
“The batteries that he needs require these critical minerals. We have tools and we should use them,” Singh said.
Singh made it clear that while Canada did not seek out a trade conflict, his government would not hesitate to respond aggressively if provoked.
“It’s not something we wanted to do, but if Donald Trump wants to bring this fight, know that we’re ready. I’m putting Donald Notice—Trump on notice,” he concluded.
