A utilities box in front of the ArcelorMittal Dofasco steel plant in Hamilton, Ontario, amid Canada’s trade war with the US, August 20, 2026.Nick Iwanyshyn/Canadian Press/AP
On Tuesday, Canadian officials announced funding to back businesses, workers, and industries, as they implement dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs on the US in response to the Trump administration’s newly imposed 50 percent tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian imports.
Senior members of Canada’s government announced a support package worth $7.5 billion Canadian dollars, or about $5.4 billion US, including $3 million in non-repayable loans for every small business and a further $2 million in interest-free loans—even for businesses only indirectly affected by tariffs.
Small and medium-sized businesses directly affected will be able to apply for a further $5 million through Canada’s business development bank, and the Canadian government has set aside $2 billion for medium-sized and large firms, more than half a billion dollars for retraining workers whose industries are affected by tariffs, and a one-year extension on temporary employment insurance benefits Canada already issued in response to the start of Trump’s trade war with Canada last year.
The package, and Canada’s reciprocal tariff plan, come after US-Canada trade negotiations collapsed late last week. According to the New York Times, discussions on automobiles, steel, and aluminum—among Canada’s key industries—were the first major setback: Canada’s proposal to lower tariffs on automobiles went beyond what the Trump administration deemed acceptable. American companies lobbied the Department of Commerce and other White House officials to “preserve their protections.”
While the plan aims more at support for businesses than direct funds for individual Canadians, it is a meaningful step that far exceeds any the Trump administration has taken or tried to take, with the White House largely ignoring the foreseeable harm of its tariffs on American workers and consumers.
According to data released by the Center for American Progress, in the 10 months following the Trump administration’s “Liberation Day” tariffs last April—which introduced a baseline 10-percent tariff on all imported goods—the US lost 89,000 manufacturing jobs and 124,000 transportation and warehousing jobs, two industries that Trump’s tariffs severely affected. In fact, nearly every state has experienced blue-collar job losses as a result of the tariff agenda, even as the policies deliver few apparent results in improving US manufacturing or lowering the trade deficit.
