Trudeau says Canada 'ready' for Trump tariffs as ministers make final push in D.C.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is ready to deliver a "purposeful, forceful but reasonable, immediate" response if U.S. President Donald Trump imposes tariffs on Canadian imports.

During an event in Toronto on Friday, Trudeau said that it's "not what we want, but if he moves forward, we will also act."

Trudeau later met with the Canada-U.S. cabinet committee as key ministers made a last-ditch attempt to stop Trump's tariff plan in Washington, D.C.

Three federal cabinet ministers are in Washington as it appears Trump will slap 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports as early as Saturday.

WATCH | Trudeau says Canada is 'ready with a response' to looming U.S. tariffs: 

Trudeau says Canada is 'ready with a response' to looming U.S. tariffs

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Duration 1:27

If U.S. President Donald Trump chooses to implement tariffs on Canada, the country is ready to respond immediately, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday while delivering remarks at a meeting of the Council on Canada-U.S. Relations. Trudeau said it’s not what Canada wants, but the country is ready for any scenario.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty and Immigration Minister Marc Miller are all in the U.S. capital making a final diplomatic push to convince Republican lawmakers and Trump's team to sway the president.

Speaking to reporters virtually from Washington on Friday, Joly said Canada has a three-stage retaliation plan. But she cautioned that Trump still hasn't made a formal decision.

"Should there be tariffs, we will be ready day one … we have a strong plan," she said.

"The reality is we've yet to see a piece of paper declaring [the tariffs]."

WATCH | Joly says Canada 'will be ready day one' to respond to possible U.S. tariffs: 

Joly says Canada ‘will be ready day one’ to respond to possible U.S. tariffs

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Duration 0:50

During a visit to Washington, D.C with Public Safety Minister David McGuinty and Immigration Minister Marc Miller, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says there will be three rounds of retaliatory measures if the U.S. imposes tariffs on Canadian goods. The White House said Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump would implement a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods starting Saturday, though Trump later offered different dates for various products.

The tariffs are "not hostile moves," said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on The Megyn Kelly Show on Thursday.

Rubio said he doesn't think Canada is a strategic threat to the United States. Pointing to his meeting with Joly earlier this week, Rubio said Canada and the U.S. have shared interests along the border.

"They're good friends. I mean, we work with them on a lot of things," he said. "We have a deep partnership with them, but there are some issues we're going to need to address."

Trump initially claimed his tariff threat was in response to a failure by Canada and Mexico to curb the illegal flow of people and drugs across the border.

WATCH | Federal government doesn't think border, fentanyl is reason for U.S. tariffs: 

Federal government doesn’t think border, fentanyl is reason for U.S. tariffs, Miller says

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Duration 2:04

Immigration Minister Marc Miller says the federal government has to hear the concerns of the U.S. administration but also ‘make it clear to the Americans that we have our challenges with the way they are working the border.’ Public Safety Minister David McGuinty added the goal of the ministers’ trip to Washington was to ‘build a fact-based ground on which to grow.’

But Miller told reporters Friday that he's not convinced Trump's threat has anything to do with the border.

"We need to convince the Americans that [the border isn't an issue] and that's part of the reason we're here," he said from Washington.

"We need to hear them out, but we need to make it clear to the Americans that we have our challenges with the way they're working the border."

• Just Asking wants to know: What questions do you have about how U.S. tariffs would affect Canada? Fill out the details on this form and send us your questions ahead of our show this Saturday.

Trudeau tried to reassure Canadians, while acknowledging Canada "could be facing difficult times in the coming days and weeks."

"I won't sugarcoat it," he said.

Trudeau said he knows Canadians "might be anxious and worried, but I want them to know the federal government, and indeed all orders of government, have their backs."

Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc posted a video on Thursday describing Canada's border security efforts to Trump's nominee for commerce secretary.

On Friday, Trudeau said Canada has responded to Trump's concerns with a $1.3-billion border security plan.

"In fact, the first patrol helicopters began monitoring the border earlier this week, and new canine teams, along with imaging tools, are being deployed to detect and stop the flow of fentanyl," he said.

He noted less than one per cent of fentanyl and illegal crossings into the United States come from Canada.

Freeland says Canada should target Tesla

Chrystia Freeland — who is running in the Liberal leadership race to replace Trudeau — said Friday that Canada should target Tesla and U.S. alcohol as part of its tariff retaliation package.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Freeland said there should be a 100 per cent tariff on all U.S. wine, beer and spirits, and on all Teslas — and make sure Wisconsin dairy farmers feel the pinch as well.

The move would target Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other political power brokers and lobby groups.

Freeland says Canada needs to give Trump's closest supporters a wake-up call with the message that if you hit Canada, it will hit back — and it will hurt.

Tesla's chief financial officer warned on an earnings call earlier this week that tariffs could hurt the company's profitability.