On the eve of a trade war with the United States, Canada has received a last-minute reprieve from President Donald Trump — for at least one month.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the breaking news on social media late Monday afternoon, following two phone calls with Trump.
Trudeau said on top of a new $1.3-billion border plan, the federal government has agreed to to appoint a "Fentanyl Czar," list cartels as terrorists, and launch a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime and money laundering.
Those steps appeared enough to appease Trump, who agreed to postpone Tuesday's scheduled start of massive tariffs on all Canadian imports.
"Proposed tariffs will be paused for at least 30 days while we work together," Trudeau wrote.
SEE: U.S. pauses tariffs on Canadian goods for a month
Ontario Premier Doug Ford was cautious in his response, saying “Canada and Ontario continue to stare down the threat of tariffs.”
Katherine DeClerq, the editor of ParliamentToday, has been covering all of today's fast-moving developments. Shortly before Trudeau's announcement, she joined tonight's episode of "Closer Look" to talk about how we got here, how the proposed tariffs would work, and how damaging they could be.
You can read DeClerq's full coverage HERE and HERE.
SEE: What does a trade war mean for Canada?
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