In his last days as prime minister, Justin Trudeau was moved to tears as he talked about his ongoing fight with President Donald Trump and how the US tariffs have shaken Canada.
Trudeau, 53, held a press conference in Ottawa to talk about health care for children. He got emotional as he promised to always put “Canadians first.”
“On a personal level, I made sure that every single day in this office, I put Canadians first, and I have people’s backs, and that’s why I’m here to tell you all that we got you,” the outgoing PM said as he started tearing up.
“Even in the last days of this government, we will not let Canadians down today and well into the future. Because in the past few weeks, we’ve been working with our provincial and territorial partners to make sure that families can rely on this system, not just for years to come, but will allow this system to lock in to become something that no government a year from now, five years from now, 20 years from now, could ever go back on.”
WATCH:
🚨New: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau is nearly in tears because of President Trump tariffs pic.twitter.com/NCk9xSjxKu
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) March 6, 2025
He also said that Canadians should be “very clear on the need to keep this going” as a new government takes over. Trudeau has been prime minister since 2015.
It looked like Trudeau wouldn’t be able to win the next election, so on January 6, he said he was stepping down as leader of the Liberal Party.
He is likely to step down after the leadership elections for his Liberal Party on Sunday.
Canada’s next election won’t happen until at least October 20, 2025, after his party chooses a new leader.
Trump, 78, has made fun of the outgoing Canadian prime minister many times since he took office in January. He called him “governor” and suggested that Canada become the “51st State” of the US.
Trump has also said that Trudeau is taking too long to make a deal because he wants to stay in charge of the Labor Party for longer.
“Believe it or not, despite the terrible job he’s done for Canada, I think that Justin Trudeau is using the Tariff problem, which he has largely caused, in order to run again for Prime Minister,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “So much fun to watch!”
Soon after becoming president, Trump threatened to put 25% tariffs on all goods coming from Canada and Mexico if those two countries didn’t stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the US.
Wednesday, Trump said that Canada and Mexico did not meet his demands, so he put 25% tariffs on their goods.
Trump was accused by Trudeau of starting a “dumb” trade war with Canada and of trying to destroy the Canadian economy to make it easier to take over the country.
“We will never be the 51st state, but he can do damage to the Canadian economy, and he’s started this morning, but he is rapidly going to find out as American families are going to find out, that that’s going to hurt people on both sides of the border,” Trudeau said.
But on Thursday, the commander-in-chief signed two orders that temporarily lifted tariffs on imports for one month. These orders were based on a trade deal that he helped make during his last term in office.
There are rules for about 38% of imports from Canada and 50% from Mexico because of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
A White House official said that they will not have to deal with Trump’s 25% tariff on all goods until April 2.