In the news today: Trudeau in Paris as Trump set to announce tariffs

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/02/2025 (301 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Trump says 25 per cent steel and aluminum tariffs coming

U.S. President Donald Trump said he will formally announce 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports on Monday, including for Canada and Mexico.

Trump made the comments at a news conference aboard Air Force One as he travelled to New Orleans to watch the Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. 

Trump imposed steel and aluminum tariffs at 25 and 10 per cent respectively during his first term in March 2018 using national security as justification.

In reaction to Trump’s announcement Sunday, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne posted on social media platform X, saying Canadian steel and aluminum support critical industries in the U.S. including defence, shipbuilding and auto manufacturing.

He said the existing trade relationship between Canada and the U.S. makes North America “more competitive and secure,” and that the government will continue to stand up for Canada, its workers and its industries.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Trudeau in Paris for a global summit on artificial intelligence

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Paris today for a global summit on artificial intelligence.

Trudeau said that developing more electricity to power artificial intelligence will be a key priority of the G7 this year, as Canada assumes the presidency of the multinational body. 

Trudeau made the comments in Paris Sunday, at a roundtable held at the residence of the Canadian ambassador, ahead of a global summit on AI that begins today. 

U.S. Vice President JD Vance is also in Paris for the AI Action Summit.

It’s unclear whether the two will meet, as no meeting has been announced to date.

Canadian aid workers: USAID halt ‘catastrophic’

Canada’s aid sector is bracing for cataclysmic suffering worldwide, and is asking Ottawa to help fill gaps as Washington winds down the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Numerous Canadian projects are in limbo as the world’s largest aid funder freezes funding to multilateral programs, and it’s unclear what will happen to millions of dollars Ottawa had sent to USAID for programming.

The aid coalition Cooperation Canada says millions of people are being abruptly cut off from lifesaving supplies.

U.S. President Donald Trump has tasked billionaire ally Elon Musk to cut the U.S. budget. The exercise has involved a 90-day freeze on most American foreign aid, pending a review aimed at ensuring the spending aligns with American interests. Thousands of staff have been placed on paid leave, though courts are reviewing those orders. 

Multiple news reports have contradicted claims by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that most of that agency’s life-saving programs abroad are still operating through waivers.

The Associated Press reported examples last Friday, such as $450 million U.S. in food grown by U.S. farmers — sufficient to feed 36 million people — which had not been paid for and thus not delivered. Some 1.6 million people displaced by war in Sudan’s Darfur region are cut off from the funds needed to run water pumps in the desert.

Ontario votes: Leaders in GTA, Niagara area

Ontario’s main party leaders are all back to work today and making stops in the Greater Toronto Area and Niagara region. 

NDP Leader Marit Stiles will kick the day off in Toronto by making a health-care announcement alongside the president of the Ontario Nurses Association before making another stop in Port Colborne, Ont. 

Liberal Party Leader Bonnie Crombie will also start the day with a health-care announcement in Toronto before spending the afternoon visiting businesses.

Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford will be in Oakville, Ont., where he is scheduled to make an announcement and meet with workers at the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 793. 

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner will join local candidate Carla Johnson for a tour of a YWCA women’s shelter being built in Cambridge, Ont., where they will address their party’s solutions to the crisis of caring in Ontario. 

The snap election will be held on Feb. 27.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published February 10, 2025.