Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he has shuffled his cabinet to create a team of lawmakers capable of fighting U.S. President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to convene a close circle of ministers in Banff, Alta.
Canada and the U.S. have imposed levies on a wide range of imported goods. Canadian counter-tariffs, which went into effect on Tuesday, cover $27.6 billion in American steel, dairy, paper, and other goods.
The same day, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders, barring a series of Canadian imports to the U.S. outright, including motorcycles, booze and whey.
He has also signed an order to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” criticized Canada’s relative lower dollar, and posted a series of memes – one which called Carney “governor,” and another depicting Canada and Greenland under an American flag.
Key details:
- Canada will scale back environmental review for major energy projects
- Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre heads to Washington
- Democrats call Trump’s trade offensive “pointless”
Follow for live updates:
‘100 per cent zoned in on the tariffs:’ Ford
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has shuffled his cabinet into what he called a “good team” to “fight the tariffs” and to “fight President Trump.”
“You’ve seen a lot of action over the last few weeks, actually, probably last month or so with President Trump, but we need a strong, strong plan to continue what we’re working on right all summer,” Ford told reporters on Thursday morning.
“Actually, and I just want to emphasize: without a break, there were no breaks, no going anywhere, I’m 100 per cent zoned in on the tariffs and on President Trump.”
Ford said he looks forward to working with the prime minister on their “strong plan” to keep moving forward, “continue prospering, continue giving people hope in Ontario, even with the tariffs coming at us.”
“We’re targeted over any jurisdiction because our manufacturing might, our technology, agricultural, financial, quite a few different areas that were the engine of Canada,” Ford said.
“So, obviously, we’re going to be targeted, but we’ll continue fighting back and making sure we have a strong, vibrant area to invest right around the world.”
Alex Arsenych, CTVNewsToroto.ca journalist
Grocers prepared for tariffs
Grocery chains are less impacted by the tariffs this time around, executives from the grocery chain Empire Co. Ltd. say.
While the grocery retailer has received some requests from suppliers to raise prices, chief customer officer Luc L’Archevêque said it hasn’t accepted any so far.
“ ... it’s too early, so we won’t accept any cost increases related to tariffs, and we’ll work very closely with our supplier partners to find solutions,” he told analysts during the company’s fiscal first-quarter earnings call on Thursday.
After last year’s tariff war, grocery chains established stronger relationships with local and non-U.S. suppliers to offer more alternatives to tariffed food items and better respond to a resurgence of the buy Canadian sentiment among shoppers.
“We have a large assortment, so customers can make many different choices to avoid U.S. products,” Empire’s chief executive Pierre St-Laurent said.
The Canadian Press
Canada could be richest country on Earth: Poilievre
Poilievre appeared on CNBC this morning to push for tariff-free trade between Canada and the U.S.
“We can be the richest country in the world,” he said during an interview, heralding Canada’s expansive coastline, potash exports, oil reserves and farmland. He also advocated for reduced taxes, shortened permitting and to “unleash free enterprise” in Canada.
Dropping tariffs, he also said, would benefit both Canada and the U.S.
“If we believe in free markets then we have to believe in free trade.”
Luca Caruso-Moro, CTVNews.ca journalist
Carney meets Zelenskyy in Calgary
Carney is sitting down for a closed-door meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Calgary, Alta.
During brief remarks to reporters in the room before talks began, the prime minister reiterated Canada’s support for the country, which was invaded by Russia in February 2022.
So far, Canada has provided $26 billion in military and humanitarian support, said Carney, who pledged to provide more. He also said Canada supports Ukraine’s “path” to join NATO and the EU.
“Ukraine’s future is for Ukrainians only to decide,” he also said.
Luca Caruso-Moro, CTVNews.ca journalist
‘The time to act is now’: N.B. premier
New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt says the province is taking action to support local businesses, jobs and products amid the trade war.
Announced Thursday, the series of measures aims to steer public spending toward domestic products, helping businesses diversify into new markets and provide financial support to companies feeling the impact of the latest tariffs.
“The time to act is now,” Holt told reporters.
Starting Oct. 1, the provincial government plans to prohibit the procurement of U.S. goods or services for significant contracts (estimated value over $5 million), among other measures. Find the full list here.
Melanie Price, CTVNewsAtlantic.ca journalist
Carney playing ‘cool’ to Trump: Mulcair
A former NDP leader says Carney’s “muted response” to Trump’s actions over the last day is a “wise” move.
Tom Mulcair told CTV News Channel on Thursday that Canada has “entered a twilight zone with Trump.”
“This is no longer chaos, this is insanity,” he described of Trump’s announcement to award $5,000 to individuals if he won in the upcoming elections.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre can lend a strong Conservative voice if he is more “statesman-like” instead of “trying to make it partisan,” Mulcair added.
“We do want to integrate our economies, but not at the expense of being beholden to the United States the way they tried to,” he said.
Devika Desai, CTVNews.ca journalist
Trade deal ‘would have destroyed our economy’: Ford
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Carney was right to walk away from an “absolutely terrible deal” with the U.S. that “would have destroyed our economy from top to bottom.”
Ford made the comment during a speech at the Toronto Region Board of Trade on Thursday, where he also announced expanded eligibility for a $1-billion tariff relief program for impacted businesses and workers in Ontario.
“It was a deal that would have hurt Canadian workers, undermined Canadian sovereignty and caused permanent damage to Canadian businesses that employ hundreds of thousands of workers across our country and province,” Ford said.
He added he supports Carney’s decision to respond to the latest U.S. tariffs with “dollar-for-dollar” counter-tariffs but warned “we have to be prepared to withstand the pain” that comes with showing Trump “Canada will stand up for itself.”
“If you don’t stand up for a bully they will continue to bully,” he said.
Chris Fox, CTVNewsToronto.ca journalist
Effect of U.S. motorcycle ban?
A Quebec manufacturer says the U.S. ban on Canadian motorcycles will have a “limited” impact on the upcoming fiscal year.
Moto Canada president and CEO Landon French told CTV Your Morning on Thursday that the “vast majority of production and shipments for the current season are completed.”
However, French says the current trade war has the potential to “cost jobs,” decrease product choice and increase prices. It could also make it more difficult for dealerships to supply custom-made inventory.
“Eventually we need a deal,” he said.
Devika Desai, CTVNews.ca journalist
Trump pledges US$5,000 payments if GOP wins
Trump pledged Wednesday to send every American adult US$5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, an extraordinary gambit to reverse his party’s sagging fortunes in November.
The dubious promise would likely cost more than $1 trillion and require congressional approval, and would further exacerbate the country’s nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit and concerns about inflation.
“If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000,” Trump said during the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas. “It will be called the Trump Dividend.”
Within an hour, Vice President JD Vance appeared to try to walk back Trump’s proposal -- at least in part -- by suggesting the dividend payments would not go to the wealthy. Vance suggested it could be paid for by U.S. tariff revenues, though the suggested payment dwarfs what the U.S. has taken in through the protectionist measures.
The Associated Press
Here’s what happened on Sept. 9, 2026:
Canada scales back energy project reviews
The federal government is scaling back a major Trudeau-era environmental review process, removing several energy projects from the federal impact assessment regime and shifting responsibility for their review to the Canada Energy Regulator (CER).
The federal government said the change will “simplify the project decision process” by relying on a single federal regulator.
“Industry stakeholders expressed strong support for the proposal to have all pipeline projects reviewed exclusively by the CER. Industry actors view this as a key step toward improving regulatory certainty, reducing duplication, and streamlining approvals,” the federal government said in its regulatory impact analysis.
The move comes just as Carney gets set to lead the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto next week. It is the federal government’s attempt to attract major infrastructure investments in Canada with a goal of $1 trillion in new investment over the next five years.
Graham Richardson, CTV News Ottawa Bureau chief. Read the full story here.
Canada in ‘strong fiscal position’: finance minister
Speaking at the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne appeared confident that Canada would weather the storm from the U.S. trade war as it builds partnerships around the world.
“I see a golden opportunity in front of us,” he said. “The world is changing. America is changing. The world energy architecture is changing, and in that new world … Canada can be at the centre. Why? Because we provide stability, predictability, and trust.”
Champagne also discussed Alberta projects, Canada’s global partnerships and his efforts to help affordability for Canadians.
“We have strong fiscal position to support people,” he said. “That’s the package announced: $7.5 billion, making sure that we can provide liquidity quickly to small- and medium-sized businesses, and at the same time support affected workers.”
Elianna Lev, CTVNews.ca multi-platform writer
Canada ‘dying’ to make a deal: Trump
Trump said Canada wants to make a deal with the United States while delivering his keynote address at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas Wednesday night.
During his speech, Trump brought up his administration’s decision to rename bodies of water, which include changing Lake Ontario to “Lake America” and the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.”
“Lake Ontario, we’re now going to call that Lake America,” Trump said. “Canada very much wants to make a deal, they’re dying to make a deal. But it’s going to be called Lake America.”
Trump then brought up his suggestion to change the name of New Mexico, a Democrat-led U.S. state, to “New America.”
Hunter Crowther, CTVNews.ca journalist
Trump’s ‘pointless’ trade war: Democrat senators
U.S. Democratic Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Chris Coons, Patty Murray, Amy Klobuchar and Elissa Slotkin say in a joint statement that the states they represent rely on Canada as a key trading partner.
They say Trump is doubling down on a “pointless” trade war.
“His tariffs will squeeze our states’ small businesses harder and drive costs up for working families,” they say. “President Trump’s tariffs have already cost American families as much as $5,000 in some states, and his senseless trade war with Canada will only grow that number.”
The senators say partners around the world, including Canada, are increasingly looking to diversify away from the United States and deepen trade ties with other countries, including China.
“Congressional Republicans need to stand up to the president and do their part to give families and businesses on both sides of the border relief from this insanity,” says the statement.
The Canadian Press
Greer gave LeBlanc notice of Trump’s orders: source
According to a source close to the trade discussions, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc was given a short heads up from U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer before Trump’s executive orders were made public last night.
The source tells CTV News it was a short “cordial” text exchange via messages, however, LeBlanc and Greer did not speak over the phone.
Mike Le Couteur, CTV News senior political correspondent
Poilievre heads to U.S. to promote Canada
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is heading to New York and will participate in ceremonies commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks Friday, according to a senior Conservative source.
According to the source, the trip is being carried out with the blessing of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Poilievre wanted to go to the United States earlier, but the PMO advised at the time such a visit would be unhelpful.
CTV News reached out to the PMO for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
Abigail Bimman, CTV News correspondent. Read the full story here.
