Trudeau and Trump agree to a pause on Canada-US tariffs — for now, at least

In a breaking development in the ongoing trade war drama, Justin Trudeau has just announced that U.S. President Donald Trump has agreed to pause proposed tariffs on Canadian imports for 30 days.

The prime minister shared the news on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday afternoon, saying he had a "good call" with the president, during which they secured the temporary halt. This comes after weeks of tension between the two countries over new Trump tariffs that threatened to hit Canadian industries hard.

Trump has framed the tariffs as a necessary move to push Canada to crack down on illegal immigration and drug trafficking at the countries' shared border.

The tariffs were set to come into effect on Tuesday and target nearly everything Canada exports, putting serious pressure on industries across the country. Canada, for its part, was poised to slap its own retaliatory tariffs on a bunch of U.S. goods.

But now, it's looking like there's a bit of breathing room — at least for the next month.

According to Trudeau, Monday's deal involved a major commitment from Canada to beef up border security. In his post, he reiterated his previously announced $1.3 billion border plan, which includes deploying new helicopters, increasing personnel and improving coordination with the U.S. to combat fentanyl smuggling.

"Nearly 10,000 frontline personnel are and will be working on protecting the border," he said.

On top of that, Trudeau said Canada is stepping up its game against organized crime. The PM announced plans to appoint a "Fentanyl Czar," list cartels as terrorists and ensure 24/7 surveillance at the border. He also mentioned launching a "Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force" to crack down on fentanyl and money laundering

"I have also signed a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl and we will be backing it with $200 million," Trudeau added. "Proposed tariffs will be paused for at least 30 days while we work together."

Meanwhile, Mexico struck a similar deal earlier on Monday, securing a 30-day tariff pause in exchange for deploying 10,000 of its national guard troops to the border to fight drug trafficking.

Whether this deal leads to a long-term solution or just delays the inevitable showdown remains to be seen. But for now, Canadian businesses can exhale — at least for a few weeks.

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