Deputy PM says ‘we need to be smart, strong and united’. Plus: plastic lobbyists in rearguard action

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Good morning.

Canada’s federal government and the premiers of the 10 provinces have agreed to work together against a threat by Donald Trump to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian imports, with one official saying the country was already examining possible retaliatory measures.

What are tariffs? A tariff is a tax on imports, or foreign goods brought into a country, paid for by the importing companies. The way that tariffs work, in Trump’s mind, is that high tariffs will incentivize American companies to move their manufacturing from abroad to the US.

What did political commentators have to say? Jeet Heer, a writer for the leftwing Nation magazine, said: “Is it too much to ask for a little humility and self-reflection from the people whose strategies failed badly?”