Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on the 27th (local time), "The existing relationship with the United States is now over,” and, “The United States is no longer a reliable partner, and we cannot go back to the past."
After a Cabinet special committee meeting on tariff responses to the Trump administration held that day, Carney said during a news conference, "We will fight against the U.S. tariffs with retaliatory measures that have the maximum impact on the United States and the minimum impact on Canada."
Earlier, President Trump announced the imposition of a 25% tariff on imported cars the day before. This tariff measure is bound to have a significant impact on Canada, which heavily relies on U.S. exports.
Carney hinted on April 2nd that a comprehensive response plan would be announced after the outlines of the reciprocal tariffs warned by President Trump became clear. He said, "It makes no sense to respond to each of a series of actions that the United States is taking relatively quickly, and we will know more in a week and respond then."
In response to President Trump's remarks threatening to impose higher tariff rates as part of Canada's retaliatory tariffs, Carney said, "We are a sovereign nation, and the decisions are ours to make," and noted, "I pay attention to what he says, but it has no meaning beyond that."