‘We need to take action’: Mayor Chow calls for united response to Trump’s tariffs

Toronto will review contracts and examine spending looking for ways to respond to US tariffs. Critics of the mayor call this "a plan to have a plan" and say this work should have already been done.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says she’s instructed the city manager to immediately coordinate with federal and provincial counterparts to ensure they respond with one voice to confront U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

It came just hours before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced there would be a 30-day pause on the tariffs after a phone call with President Donald Trump.

Chow says the action plan includes a “buy Canadian initiative.”

“A city-wide push to put our locally-made products and services first. It includes a review of the city government’s procurement policies and contracts.”

The city also says it will form an Economic Action Team of business and labour leaders to advise on strategies to “protect the sectors of the economy most at risk, defend jobs, and keep workers front and centre.”

“For many in Toronto, this is an anxious, unsettling time. People are concerned that this unnecessary trade war will impact their jobs,” Chow said.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says she’s instructed the city manager to immediately coordinate with federal and provincial counterparts to ensure they respond with one voice to confront this economic attack. Photo: Tony Fera/CityNews.

The four-point plan also includes partnering with other levels of government.

When asked what concrete measures the city was taking, Chow said, with a nearly $80 billion budget, it matters where the city buys things, including food for a recently expanded student nutrition program.

“This is a plan to have a plan. A meeting to hold more meetings,” complained Beaches East York councillor and frequent critic of the mayor, Brad Bradford.

Bradford said the work of looking at city contracts should have been completed already.

Budget chief Shelley Carroll bristled at the suggestion this was a study, saying a study sounds like something that would take months “and we don’t have months.”

In the short term, nothing will change with Toronto’s $18.9 billion dollar operating budget which features an 6.9 per cent increase in property tax. The budget is expected to pass at council on Feb. 11.

United States President Donald Trump confirmed this weekend that 25 per cent tariffs against Canadian goods will go into effect on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Canada will retaliate by imposing tariffs on $155 billion worth of American goods, including alcohol, furniture, and natural resources.

Trump says he had a “very friendly” conversation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, during which she agreed to “immediately” put 10,000 Mexican soldiers on the shared border to combat fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration.

In a post on his own social media platform, Truth Social, Trump says he is pausing his plan to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Mexico for one month as negotiations are held between the two countries.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today