Quebec officials move forward on plan to respond to now-delayed U.S. tariffs

Posted February 3, 2025 11:05 am.
Last Updated February 3, 2025 5:23 pm.
Quebec Premier François Legault is not sugarcoating the situation: U.S. President Donald Trump’s “full-scale attack” on Canada will “destabilize the North American trade ecosystem” and the months ahead are “going to be difficult.”
“We must not delude ourselves, it will hurt us,” Legault wrote on X of Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods, which were set to take effect Tuesday but have been paused 30 days.
Legault was meeting with several of the province’s financial heavyweights Monday as his administration readies its response to the tariffs set to be imposed by Trump. Legault and some of his ministers are set to speak with CEOs from a pair of banks as well as the heads of the province’s pension fund manager, investment arm and electric utility.
The meetings comes after Economy Minister Christine Fréchette told Radio-Canada the province is planning to impose a 25 per cent penalty on American companies attempting to bid on Quebec government contracts. Fréchette said that would make it all but impossible for American companies to be selected because it would increase their bids by 25 per cent.
Legault says he held a caucus with CAQ members and there is “great concern in our regions and we will be paying close attention to the regional economies that could be hit hard.”
The Quebec premier also said he is open to an emergency discussion in the National Assembly, as proposed by Québec solidaire. “We will have to pull together and take all the good ideas,” Legault said.
The CAQ leader says Quebec must prepare for “our economic system to be disrupted over a long period of time.”
“We could tell ourselves that this will not last, but it would be dangerous to think like that.”
Legault also said Quebec and Canada must respond to Trump’s “brutal economic attack.”
Ottawa’s counter-tariff plan would have begun on Tuesday as well, with 25 per cent tariffs on $30 billion in goods originating in the U.S. Ottawa was also planning to add another $125 billion in tariffs on hundreds of other U.S. goods after consulting with industry.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says additional non-tariff measures are being discussed by the federal and provincial governments, including some related to critical minerals, energy and procurement.
In Quebec, the province’s liquor board – the SAQ – has been instructed to stop selling and buying American products, wines, liqueurs and spirits. Legault has also asked the president of the Treasury Board, Sonia Lebel, to “propose a way to penalize American companies that do business with the Quebec government.”
“We are preparing to support the companies that will be hit by the American tariffs starting Tuesday,” Legault wrote on X. “Tomorrow, I will meet and discuss with some leaders of our financial and economic system. We will have to work with the federal government, which will also support our companies.
“We will also have to redefine and redeploy our economy. Manufacture new products, open new markets. But that will take time.”
Legault says it’s important that Quebecers buy local products.
“We have launched several initiatives in the past to identify Quebec products. Let’s buy them, it’s a good way to help each other,” the premier wrote. “Even if this attack from President Trump is very shocking, even if the coming months are going to be difficult, we must keep a cool head, roll up our sleeves and fight.”
–With files from The Canadian Press