(Bloomberg) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a flurry of measures aimed at blunting the pain of US tariffs as well as “nation-building” reforms to boost trade and investment days before he’s expected to call an election.
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In a bid to mitigate the economic hit from sweeping import taxes on Canadian goods proposed by US President Donald Trump, Canada will temporarily allow businesses to defer payments of corporate income tax and consumption tax remittances, Carney said in Ottawa late Friday. The move would apply April 2 to June 30, his office added in a statement later.
In addition, Canada will deploy a new government financing facility and make it easier and faster for affected workers to access government support programs, he said, without detailing the budget impact of the moves.
“These measures as a whole will help our workers, help keep our businesses running, and protect our economy during this phase of the trade war,” said Carney, who was sworn in as prime minister a week ago after replacing Justin Trudeau as leader of the ruling Liberal Party. “We are in a crisis — not of our own making.”
Industry Minister Anita Anand later outlined a C$450 million ($314 million) boost over five years for regional development agencies to help small and medium-sized businesses affected by tariffs.
Carney didn’t stop there. Under pressure from US import tariffs already put in place, and the threat of new duties coming into force on April 2, Canada has imposed retaliatory measures aimed at some US goods.
At his Friday evening news conference, Carney also announced measures aimed at stimulating investment and accelerating the movement of goods, services and workers between the country’s thirteen provinces and territories. By harmonizing regulations, he said, “we can create that truly open and one Canadian market.”
The prime minister claimed eliminating Canada’s internal barriers would increase the size of its economy by C$250 billion.
“It is high time to build things that we never imagined and to build them at a speed that we have never seen,” said Carney, a former governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England.
