Trump’s Trade War

While Mr. Trump pulled back from his initial threat of tariffs on everything imported from Canada, he has imposed several measures that hit key sectors of Canada’s economy: a 25 percent tariff on automobiles, aluminum and steel, and a similar one on Canadian exports that do not qualify as North American goods under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which he signed during his first term in office. An auto parts tariff of 25 percent is scheduled to take effect on Saturday.

Last week, Mr. Trump suggested that the automobile tariffs, which are reduced based on their U.S.-made content, could be increased. He offered no specifics.

Autos and auto parts are Canada’s largest exports to the United States, outside oil and gas.

Canada Hits Back

Under Mr. Trudeau, Canada placed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods coming into Canada that are expected to generate 30 billion Canadian dollars, about $22 billion, in revenue over a year.

After becoming prime minister in March, Mark Carney imposed an additional 8 billion Canadian dollars, about $5.7 billion, in tariffs, including a 25 percent levy on autos made in the United States — but not on auto parts. Automakers with assembly lines in Canada will still largely be able to bring in American-made cars of those brands duty free.

The Canadian public has responded, too. Travel to the United States has declined sharply. Government-owned liquor stores in several provinces removed American beer, wine and whiskey from their shelves. As calls for boycotts of American products grew, Canadian manufacturers hurried to adorn their packaging with maple leaves and Canadian flags.

How to Handle Trump

Both Mr. Carney, who also succeeded Mr. Trudeau as the Liberal Party leader, and Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative leader and the other major contender in the election, have adopted a hard line when it comes to the U.S. president.

In a conversation with Mr. Trump, in March, Mr. Carney said that the president had agreed to begin economic and security negotiations with whoever emerges as prime minister. During those talks, Mr. Carney said during a televised debate, “the starting point has to be one of strength.”

He added: “It has to show that we have control of our own economic destiny.”

Throughout the campaign, Mr. Carney, who was a governor of the Bank of Canada and later of the Bank of England, has sought to emphasize that his background in the financial world makes him the ideal candidate to tackle both Mr. Trump and the economic challenges his tariffs pose.

When asked how he will deal with Mr. Trump, Mr. Poilievre, a lifelong politician, usually responds by saying that he will first tackle what he views as problems the Liberals have created within Canada.

“I would cut taxes, red tape and approve our resource projects so that we can get our goods to market and bring home the jobs so we can stand up to President Trump from a position of strength,” he said during the debate.

The Crisis Will Probably Get Worse

Mr. Trump’s auto tariffs had an immediate impact. A factory in Windsor, Ontario, where Stellantis makes Chrysler minivans and Dodge muscle cars, was shut down for two weeks while the company considered its options. The association of auto parts makers said that its members had already laid off several thousand workers in Ontario.

There have also been a small number of layoffs in the steel industry.

The threatened tariff on auto parts may have a profound effect. Auto parts makers employ more people than the automakers’ assembly lines. Many parts companies are small, sometimes family-owned businesses without the financial resilience of multinational car manufacturers.

Economic Ideas, but Few Details

Both leaders, but Mr. Poilievre in particular, have promoted the construction of oil and gas pipelines to make it easier to ship fuel to Europe. They have not offered any specifics about what companies, if any, are interested in those projects or how they would be financed.

Mr. Poilievre also said he would accelerate environmental reviews and consultations with Indigenous groups for natural resource projects. Environmental groups and Indigenous leaders have criticized the proposal and questioned its legality.

For the auto sector, Mr. Carney has proposed to create an “all-in-Canada” system in which cars are assembled in Canada using Canadian parts made from Canadian steel and aluminum. He has not said how he would persuade automakers to go along with the plan.

Mr. Carney has also promised to set aside 2 billion Canadian dollars to help the auto industry adjust to U.S. tariffs and vowed that the money collected from retaliatory tariffs would be used to help companies and workers disrupted by the trade war. He has not specified what that help would involve.

Thousands of people participated in a march against Ireland’s mass migration policies in the country’s capital of Dublin on Saturday. 

UFC champion Conor McGregor – who is considering a potential presidential bid in his native Ireland – posted a video message beforehand from Dublin’s Garden of Remembrance, where the march began hours later. 

“Hello everyone in Ireland. April 26th, 2025 – A big day here for our country. “A historic month for Ireland since 1916,” McGregor said, referring to the recent anniversary of the Easter Rising against British rule. 

“Over 100 years ago, our brave men and women made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could live free today. So let us remind ourselves why we are here. And also why we are not here,” McGregor said. “We are not here to build hatred amongst each other. We are not here to sow division. We are here to commemorate the valiant heroes who went before us. We honor their spirit, we honor their fight.” 

CONOR MCGREGOR URGES IRELAND CITIZENS TO VOTE HIM AS COUNTRY’S PRESIDENT AFTER MEETING WITH TRUMP

McGregor said the protest would be intended “to shine our light on the failure of Ireland’s government and our full disapproval of it.” 

“Be respectful, be proud, be united,” McGregor said. “Because together, we will be heard, and as one, we will be victorious in our mission. To those leading their march and speaking for the tens of thousands standing behind you: be calm, be clear.”

“Speak with dignity – we want to hear your voice. Together we rise, together we win,” he added. “God bless us all. God bless Ireland.”

The large-scale demonstration kicked off on Saturday afternoon in the garden, as crowds carrying tri-color flags headed down O’Connell Street. 

Some protesters carried placards reading “Irish Lives Matter” and “Ireland is Full,” and many wore green hats with the message “Make Ireland Great Again.” 

Irish police, known as gardaí, showed a heightened presence in the capital, maintaining a cordoned-off line between the marchers and a smaller group of counter-protesters who gathered in front of the General Post Office (GPO). 

“Over 106,000 Irish men, women and children attended yesterday’s rally,” McGregor wrote on X Sunday, sharing aerial photos of protesters waving tri-color flags. “Not one social order incident to report. Tremendous! Onward for Ireland!”

Police later said “no major incidents” happened Saturday, though three people had been arrested for “public order offenses,” according to the Irish public broadcaster RTE. Police declined to provide additional information. 

The counter-protest was organized by United Against Racism and was backed by members of opposition parties including Sinn Féin, Labor, People Before Profit, the Social Democrats, the Socialist Party and the Green Party, according to The Irish Times.

AMERICA CELEBRATES IRISH CULTURE AND POLITICS ON ST. PATRICK’S DAY

They held banners that read, “Boycott Apartheid Israel” and “Dublin Stands Against Racism,” according to photos from the scene. 

Gardai on duty near a counter-protest at the GPO on Saturday April 26, 2025.  (Conor O Mearain/PA Images via Getty Images)

McGregor first announced his interest in running for president of Ireland after meeting with President Donald Trump on St. Patrick’s Day, though the fighter has suggested the country’s nomination process is stacked against outsiders like himself. 

Those who spoke at the march included Dublin City councilors Gavin Pepper, Philip Sutcliffe and Malachy Steenson and Fingal councilor Patrick Quinlan, according to Breakingnews.ie.

“The fact of the matter is we’re bringing in thousands and thousands of people and putting them up in hotels while our own people are being left to rot… We’ve had enough of this in Ireland,” Pepper said to a cheering Dublin crowd, according to a video shared on X. “Irish people come first in our own country. It’s time for mass deportation. The traitors of Sinn Féin do not care.” 

The prime minister of Ireland, who holds the title of taoiseach, Micheál Martin, told reporters on Sunday that he did not “accept the negativity from those who spoke yesterday in respect of where modern Ireland is today,” according to a video shared online by Susanne Delaney, a contributor to the anti-globalist outlet Irish Inquiry. 

“The level of opportunity in modern Ireland today again is far in excess of anything previous generations experienced in terms of educational completion and so on,” Martin, who also met with Trump in the Oval Office earlier in March, said. “The big social issue of our day is housing, but we’re focused on solutions to that and less so on the rhetoric of it.” 

Asked about the growing size of the “Irish nationalist” movement, Martin said the “ballot box is the key metric, the key determinant of the organization of society, who gets elected into government, who gets elected into local councils.” 

“And I think it has to be based on ideas and policies,” he said. “We believe we have a stronger set of ideas than perhaps those who articulated yesterday.”