Trump remains defiant on tariff measures, as markets close low on third downward day

5:30 p.m. | How the NDP is fighting for survival in the face of Trump’s trade war

OTTAWA—Jagmeet Singh insists his future as NDP leader is the last thing on his mind.

So, too, appears to be his goal of becoming prime minister, which Singh declared on day one of the federal election campaign but has since dropped from his rhetoric.

And on Monday, Singh refused to say he believes his party can win the most seats in the election, and instead pitched the New Democrats as a necessary guardian of the social safety net, based on the party’s record of helping secure dental care and pharmacare in the previous minority Parliament.

— Read the full analysis from the Star’s Mark Ramzy 

4:10 p.m. | Markets mixed after choppy trading day amid U.S. tariffs concerns

North American stock markets muddled to a mixed close Monday as the effects of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement continued to reverberate. 

The S&P/TSX Composite Index was down more than 300 points heading into the market close, or almost 1.5 per cent. 

The Dow Jones industrial average was leading the way down on Wall Street, falling almost one per cent, while the Nasdaq edged higher, well off the lows from earlier in the day. The S&P 500 moved somewhat lower. 

Read more from the Canadian Press

5:20 p.m. | How the NDP is fighting for survival in face of Trump’s trade war

Jagmeet Singh insists his future as NDP leader is the last thing on his mind.

So, too, appears to be his goal of becoming prime minister, which Singh declared on day one of the federal election campaign but has since dropped from his rhetoric.

And on Monday, Singh refused to say he believes his party can win the most seats in the election, and instead pitched the New Democrats as a necessary guardian of the social safety net, based on the party’s record of helping secure dental care and pharmacare in the previous minority Parliament.

Read the full analysis by the Star’s Mark Ramzy

4:07 p.m. | Trump concludes press conference with eerie ultimatum to Iran

Trump has concluded yet another extraordinary news conference in the Oval Office, where the U.S. president interspersed his riffing on tariffs and trade with newsmaking comments on the Middle East, and specifically Iran.

He said that the U.S. is having high-level direct talks with Iran, warning against its support to the Houthis, and there must be a deal struck on to ensure Iran never develops nuclear weapons.

Asked if the U.S. would be prepared to take military action to stop it, Trump suggests that if the talks are not successful “Iran is going to be in great danger and I hate to say it, great danger, because they can’t have a nuclear weapon.”

— Tonda MacCharles

4:00 p.m. | Trump justifies his widespread tariff strikes, and why he didn’t target Russia

3:55 p.m. | Trump tying China’s ‘massive’ trade surplus to their ability to ‘spend on their military’

On China, Trump uses three different figures when he talks about the need to “reset the table on trade,” saying the U.S. loses “close to $2 trillion a year,” “1 trillion a year,” and “hundreds of billions of dollars a year on trade to China.”

Then when he links it to China’s position as a military power, he said, “I don’t want them spending money on their military, and I shouldn’t have to spend money.”

“We shouldn’t have to spend it either, because, you know, hopefully,” he said, adding “In other words, because we’re not going to use those incredible weapons that we have and that they have, we don’t want that.”

“So it’s going to be very interesting,” Trump said. “This is the only chance our, our country will have to reset the table because no other president would be willing to do what I’m doing or to even go through.”

— Tonda MacCharles

3:47 p.m. | Trump criticises the European Union for banding together against the United States for trade

Trump criticizes the European Union, saying countries there banded together to “create a unified force against the United States for trade.” And “they took advantage of us dollar-wise and militarily.”

“We were paying for NATO. So we’re paying them to guard them militarily, and they’re screwing us on trade. So that’s not a good combination.”

He says European and Japan’s barriers against American cars and agriculture products won’t stand, before going on to boast that his economic program will promote coal, bring down energy costs, and the cost of groceries. Referencing the refinancing of debt in the U.S., he says “we’re going to start paying debt off with tariffs and other things. But it’s such a big factor because the interest rates are so high.”

 — Tonda MacCharles

3:34 p.m. | Trump doubles down on his warning to China

3:26 p.m. | Trump reiterates U.S. has been taken advantage of by many countries

Trump is reiterating his view that “many countries” have ripped off and taken advantage of the U.S., and reiterated concerns that illegal immigrants were coming into the U.S. across Mexico and Canada’s borders.

He said the prime minister of Japan is coming to meet with him to negotiate dropping its tariffs on cars, and slammed China, saying again that he wants a “fair deal,” adding “we have $36 trillion of debt for a reason. And, the reason is that people allowed it to get that way. So, we’ll be, talking to China.”

Asked whether there can be negotiations to pause tariffs or will they be permanent, Trump says “they can both be true. They can be permanent tariffs and they can also be negotiations. Because there are things that we need beyond tariffs. We need open borders.”

3:24 p.m. | LIVE: Trump and Israel’s Netanyahu hold press conference from the Oval Office

3:20 p.m. | Up to 12,000 autoworkers estimated to be off the job as Trump tariffs lead to Stellantis ‘pause’

The damage from U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war is spreading.

Up to 12,000 workers in the Canadian automotive parts industry are off the job thanks to the temporary closure of Stellantis assembly plants in Windsor and Warren, Mich., a top industry insider has estimated.

”Anyone who supplies Windsor and Warren isn’t working right now,” said Flavio Volpe, CEO of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association. “There are probably 10,000 to 12,000 people who aren’t working because of this.”

Read the full story from the Star’s Josh Rubin

3:15 p.m. ‘Ontario’s move should help keep manufacturers operating’

The head of the trade association representing the Canadian manufacturing industry said the Ontario move, as well as a similar one from Quebec last month, should help manufacturers continue operating.

“We need to make sure we keep the workers whole, and keep the companies from going insolvent,” said Dennis Darby, CEO of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters.

3:05 p.m. Ontario loans in wake of Trump tariffs

Commenting on the news that Ontario is giving businesses a six-month “interest-free loan” to cope with the damage caused by Trump’s trade war against Canada, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said “it’s kind of like an interest-free loan for the next six months.”

“It helps with their liquidity, their payroll and so on,” said Bethlenfalvy, adding the deferral of tax remittance should help around 80,000 businesses.

2:10 p.m.| ICYMI: Here’s everything you need to know about crossing the 49th parallel

Starting April 11, foreign nationals visiting for more than 30 days entering U.S. ports of entry will need to register.

“The Trump administration is enforcing immigration laws,” said the Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, in an emailed statement. “Those who violate these laws will be processed, detained, and removed as required,” she said.

“Lawful travellers have nothing to fear from these measures, which are designed to protect our nation’s security,” said Customs and Border Protection assistant commissioner, Hilton Beckham in an emailed statement.

Read the full story from the Star’s Reagan McSwain

1:53 p.m. | Constant barrage of alarming headlines likely making market swings worse

Lisa Kramer, a behaviour finance professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, said the constant barrage of alarming headlines is likely making the market swings worse.

“The fact that we are so bombarded by information in real-time really compounds the effect of a market downturn like this,” said Kramer.

“It used to be you would read about a crash in the newspaper the next day, but now the information is bombarding us from every social media channel, every mainstream news channel, and all of our friends are probably talking with us over the water cooler about it.”

That, said Kramer, is simply too much for most people to bear. “I don’t think we’re really built to deal with that level of intensity. So it can compound the emotional impact and make us feel more panicked.”

— Josh Rubin

1:45 p.m. | More than ten thousand Canadian workers already out of a job at Stellantis plants

The head of the association representing Canadian auto parts suppliers estimates that there are 10,000 to 12,000 Canadian parts workers at least temporarily out of a job because of the production pause at Stellantis assembly plants in Windsor and Warren, Mich.

“Anyone who supplies Windsor and Warren isn’t working right now,” said Flavio Volpe, CEO of the Auto Parts Manufacturers’ Association.

That total is on top of the 4,500 people laid off for two weeks at the Windsor assembly plant.

— Josh Rubin

1:40 p.m. | Stocks continue to sink at midday, after Trump threatens to escalate trade war 

U.S. stocks are falling in a manic Monday after President Donald Trump doubled down on his tariffs, despite seeing how much Wall Street wants him to do the opposite.

The S&P 500 was down 1.7% in midday trading, coming off its worst week since COVID began crashing the global economy in March 2020. The index, which sits at the heart of many investors’ 401(k) accounts, has been flirting with a drop of 20% from its record set less than two months ago.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 860 points, or 2.2%, as of 1:05 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.4% lower.

— Read the full report from the Associated Press

1:35 p.m. | Most Canadians now bracing for recession amid Trump tariff turmoil: survey

Most Canadians are expecting a recession to hit the economy in 2025, according a new Bank of Canada survey, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs rattle global markets and disrupt international trade. 

On Monday, the central bank’s quarterly Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations showed 67 per cent of consumers are anticipating a recession — a significant jump from 47 per cent last quarter. 

Canadians said they are feeling more pessimistic about their job security and financial health while reporting a higher-than-average chance of missing a debt payment, the online survey conducted through February showed. 

Read more from Star business reporter Ana Pereira.

1:30 p.m. | Toronto’s University Health Network launches plan to attract top medical researchers to Canada as Trump cuts funding

Toronto’s University Health Network is launching a plan to recruit early-career medical researchers to Canada.

At a press conference Monday morning at Toronto General Hospital, UHN executives outlined their strategy to attract what they describe as the “brightest minds in medical research” to help drive economic growth, support Canadian-based manufacturing, and create job opportunities in the research sector.

Read the full report by the Star’s Asma Sahebzada.

1:15 p.m.| Hike on softwood lumber tariffs ‘wholly unjustified’: Carney

Carney, asked about a Commerce department recommendation that the U.S. hike softwood lumber tariffs up to 34.4 per cent, from 14.4 per cent, said “they’re wholly unjustified” and promised specific support for workers affected, and pointed to a promise to kickstart a massive housing construction effort that he said “takes time and it won’t fully replace a U.S. market” but he added “we’re going to fight hard to get that access to U.S. markets.”

On Mar. 1, Trump ordered the department to report within 270 days on what level of lumber duties is warranted, but he has not yet issued any formal follow-up order.

 — Tonda MacCharles

1:10 p.m. | Carney coordinating tariff response, speaking with world leaders including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer

Carney says he spoke to the governor of the Bank of Canada, the Minister of Finance, and “a number of counterparts in the last 24 hours around the world” including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“What you worry about in these types of situations, if you are charged with overseeing financial markets, is - are there problems that are being created by the markets themselves, the banks themselves, are there weaknesses. We do not see that,” he said.

“We have rock solid, financial institutions in this country,” Carney said. “So they’re not making it worse.”

The markets are “reacting to what we have warned about, which is that these tariffs are fundamentally damaging to the American economy and by extension, to the global economy,” he said.

He said there’s “a lot of technical things” including liquidity supports and other work that need to be done “to make sure the markets function and the markets don’t make it worse,” but Carney stressed that he has confidence that “the governor of the Bank Canada, the Minister of Finance, they’re on top of it, and (I) also have confidence in Canadian institutions,” he said.

‘The probability of recession in the United States has gone up significantly’: Carney

“The probability of recession in the United States has gone up significantly,” Carney said, adding that “will have significant effect on the Canadian economy. It’s very hard for us to avoid that.”

Yet he repeated a raft of campaign promises he has made to strengthen the Canadian economy, and support workers and companies affected by the tariff war.

“We can’t control President Trump’s decision. We can speak and we do and influence and form, we can’t control what we do here in this country,” reiterating his pledge to diversify Canada’s trading relationships.

 — Tonda MacCharles

1 p.m. | Carney not planning to cut social policies supported by NDP

Asked about the NDP, Carney reiterated a commitment that he would not cut social programs Liberals created with NDP support in the last Parliament. He added, “the reality is that the key issue in this election is who can stand up to the threats from America to our sovereignty, to our nature, to our livelihoods, to our future?”

 — Tonda MacCharles

12:47 p.m. Carney pledges support for seniors

Liberal leader Mark Carney, speaking in Victoria, B.C. framed his party’s campaign pledge of the day — financial support for seniors who are concerned about the hit to their retirement savings — in light of Trump’s tariff turmoil which he said is “disrupting the global economy, global financial markets, by directly targeting Canadian workers, and by fundamentally reshaping internal national trading system.”

A Liberal government, he said would reduce the minimum amount that must be withdrawn from registered retirement income funds by 25 per cent for the next year, so that “seniors won’t have to withdraw as much of their hard earned savings when markets are volatile.” Carney said he would also temporarily boost the guaranteed Income supplement by 5 per cent for one year, which the Liberals say will provide “up to $652 more to low-income seniors, tax-free.”

And Carney, who had slightly dialed back his rhetoric after his first phone call with Trump, went back to slamming Trump’s combined tariff and annexation threats.

“President Trump’s unjustified tariffs come with threats to our sovereignty that have one goal behind it to weaken Canada, to break us so that America can only to take our greatest strength, our resources, our water, our land, our country. That will never happen. Canada is not America.”

“America is a melting pot. Canada is a mosaic because we value diversity,” Carney said, using a decades-old metaphor to describe the cultural difference.

Carney pivoted his campaign pitch Monday to the environment as well, saying a Liberal government would protect Canada’s lands and waters, create new national and urban parks, and lead a drive to develop “international standards for voluntary carbon markets.”

 — Tonda MacCharles

12:20 p.m. Canada’s ad campaign in the U.S. is too tame — here is my plan to attack Trump

If you’ve ever driven from Toronto to Florida, you’ve likely encountered the visual cacophony of billboards along America’s Interstate Highways. These range from posters for injury lawyers and gentlemen’s clubs to fast food outlets and reminders that Jesus loves you.

Upon reaching Florida, one might chuckle at an AC repair ad proclaiming, “Your wife is hot.” But lately, these roadsides are also battlegrounds in a propaganda war with billboards from the Government of Canada warning that tariffs are essentially taxes on hardworking Americans.

It’s a campaign I’ve been advocating for since December, when hope lingered that Trump was merely bluffing about imposing punishing tariffs. Unfortunately, he wasn’t bluffing.

The government remains tight-lipped about the exact financial outlay for these billboards across various U.S. markets, but feedback from my American friends confirms they’re getting noticed.

Read more from Star contributor Éric Blais

12:16 p.m. Conservatives promising to streamline environmental reviews

Poilievre is promising to streamline environmental reviews of resource projects, with a single review agency and the mandate to reduce timelines for decisions to under one year, and committed to rapidly approve 10 projects he says have been stuck “for years in the slow federal approval process,” including the second phase of LNG Canada, a massive natural gas liquefaction project in Northern British Columbia. The Liberals have also promised a revised “one project, one review” streamlined permitting system.

12:09 p.m. Poilievre slams Carney’s ‘trophy titles’ and ‘inflated hype’ amid market turmoil

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, campaigning in Terrace, B.C., teed off the stock market turmoil to launch a blistering attack on Liberal leader Mark Carney, and to promote his own campaign promises as bulwark’s against “Donald Trump’s economic vandalism over the last several days.”

“We are all watching the stock market with interest today,” Poilievre told reporters. “We have to acknowledge that this chaos is the direct result of wrong headed, unnecessary, chaotic policies coming from President Trump. These tariffs are a massive distraction and they remind us why it was such a mistake for the Liberals to make us so dependent on the Americans.”

Poilievre slammed the Liberal record supporting a consumer carbon price, and what he called the “Liberal war on Canada’s resource economy.”

He predicted that Carney will be “trotting out his trophy titles and the inflated hype around his false resume claims on this day,” but he said “at this time, the last thing we need is take it to take a risk on the failed ideas of Mark Carney. Mark Carney has been wrong about every major economic issue of our time.”

11:40 a.m. | Trump responds to China’s counter-tariffs, threatens to increase levies further 

President Trump said the U.S. will impose additional tariffs of 50 per cent on China, if the country does not remove its retaliatory duties by April 8. 

The president took to Truth Social to express his displeasure about China’s 34 per cent retaliatory tariffs, that came into effect on Sunday.

He further threatened to terminate “all talks with China concerning their requested meetings,” and said the U.S. will look to negotiate trade with other countries. 

11:13 a.m. S&P TSX Composite Index plunging

Monday, the S&P TSX Composite Index plunged by more than 3.5 per cent in the first 10 minutes of trading, while in New York, the S&P 500 dropped by 2.8 per cent.

By 10:30, both exchanges had regained a big chunk of their losses. The S&P TSX Composite had bounced back up and was down one per cent on the day, while the S&P 500 was down 1.1 per cent. The S&P 500 has now dropped nearly 20 per cent since setting a record two months ago.

10:48 a.m. Bank of Canada reports show trade uncertainty takes toll on business and consumer confidence

A pair of reports from the Bank of Canada pointed to declining business and consumer sentiment in the first quarter as the uncertainty over U.S. tariffs took their toll.

The central bank’s business outlook survey said 32 per cent of firms are now planning with the assumption that a recession will occur in Canada over the coming year, up from 15 per cent over the past two quarters.

The reading came as a smaller proportion of businesses expected sales growth to improve over the coming year, while plans for investment in machine equipment declined.

Read the full story from the Canadian Press

10:07 a.m. Global markets tumble as Trump tariff fallout expands

The carnage on world markets is continuing as traders react to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.

Monday, the S&P TSX Composite Index plunged by more than 3.5 per cent in the first 10 minutes of trading, while in New York, the S&P 500 dropped by 2.8 per cent.

Read the full story from Josh Rubin. 

9:50 a.m. Billionaire Bill Ackman calls Trump tariff launch a ‘mistake’

President Donald Trump’s decision to launch global tariffs on April 9 is a “mistake,” Pershing Square’s billionaire founder Bill Ackman said.

“I strongly believe launching tariffs on April 9th against the entire world — massively in excess of what we are being charged — is a mistake,” Ackman wrote in a post on X.

Ackman added that he thought a 90-day pause was needed to give Trump time to “carefully and strategically resolve our historically unfair global trading position.”

Read the full story from Bloomberg.

9:49 a.m. Warren Buffett did not praise Trump’s recent economic policies

As the stock market reeled Friday from President Donald Trump’s move to institute widespread global tariffs, Trump shared a video on Truth Social that erroneously claimed legendary investor Warren Buffett praised his recent economic policies.

Here’s a closer look at the facts.

9:41 a.m. Canadian, U.S. markets plunge for third day

Canadian and U.S. stock markets are sinking for a third straight day as U.S. President Trump’s tariffs stir global recession fears.

The S&P/TSX composite index opened down close to four per cent.

In New York, markets were down more than three per cent.

From the Canadian Press

8:19 a.m. Doug Ford pledges relief for workers and businesses hit by tariffs

At Queen’s Park, Premier Doug Ford said the Ontario government would earmark about $11 billion in relief and support for workers and businesses affected by Trump’s tariffs. That includes deferring taxes for six months and boosting Workplace Safety and Insurance Board measures to encourage companies to keep workers on the job.

Read the full story from Robert Benzie.

8:05 a.m. Trump digs in his heels as global markets keep dropping over tariffs

President Donald Trump remained defiant on Monday as global markets continued plunging after his tariff announcement last week.

He said other countries had been “taking advantage of the Good OL’ USA!” in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform.

“Our past ‘leaders’ are to blame for allowing this, and so much else, to happen to our Country,” Trump wrote. “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The Republican president also called on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. On Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that the tariffs could increase inflation, and he said “there’s a lot of waiting and seeing going on, including by us,” before any decisions would be made.

Read the full story from the Associated Press.

Mark Carney pokes at Alberta premier at first Western campaign stop 

The Liberal leader is starting off his Western Canada campaign stops by drawing a contrast with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

Carney said there’s been a national effort to convince Americans to change policies like tariffs, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford addressing the conservative Fox News network.

“We’re sending Doug Ford on to Fox News, to show them we’re not messing around up here. And we’re going to send Danielle next, we’re — well maybe we won’t send Danielle,” he said, with a grimace. “That was a bad idea.”

Read the full story from the Canadian Press

Panic Monday: World stock markets plunge again as Trump doubles down on tariffs

FRANKFURT, Germany—Global stock markets extended a severe plunge Monday, fueled by fears that U.S. tariffs would lead to a global economic slowdown. European and Asian shares saw dramatic losses, the leading U.S. index flirted with bear market territory in pre-market trading, and oil prices sagged.

The massive sell-off in riskier assets at the start of the trading week follows President Donald Trump’s announcement of sharply higher U.S. import taxes and retaliation from China that saw markets fall sharply Thursday and Friday.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost nearly 8% shortly after the market opened and futures trading for the benchmark was briefly suspended. It closed down 7.8% at 31,136.58.

Read more from the Associated Press

Futures market points to another day of big losses for U.S. stock markets

The futures market pointed to another big drop for U.S. stock markets when trading begins this morning as investors continue to worry about U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs announced last week.

European markets were down sharply, while markets in Asia tumbled overnight.

Stock markets sold off last week after Trump’s announcement sparked fears of a global recession.

Read more from the Canadian Press