BRAVE NEW WORLD — Canadians are waking up on the front lines of a trade war with DONALD TRUMP's administration. Trump imposed 25 percent tariffs on most Canadian and Mexican imports — and 10 percent on Canadian energy imports — effective this morning. Both countries "failed to adequately" satisfy American demands to "curb the dangerous cartel activity and influx of lethal drugs" into the U.S., read a White House "fact sheet." The administration also slapped 20 percent tariffs on China. Nervous markets face a "tenuous moment," Reuters reported. — Northern border: The White House claimed last year’s seizures of fentanyl at the Canada-U.S. border "could kill 9.5 million Americans due to the drug’s potency." The administration further claimed that seizures "in the first four months of this fiscal year are quickly closing in on what was seized the entirety of fiscal year 2022." → Different view: Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU pointed to different figures in a Monday evening statement that argued fentanyl seizures from Canada "have dropped 97 per cent between December 2024 and January 2025 to a near-zero low of 0.03 pounds seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection." — Red alert: This morning on Parliament Hill, Trudeau will hold a press conference on the new state of play. He’ll be joined at 10:30 a.m. by Finance Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC, Foreign Minister MÉLANIE JOLY and Public Safety Minister DAVID MCGUINTY. Joly pointed out again Monday that Canada had responded in good faith to Trump’s border concerns. “But I've said it to you many, many times, there's a level of unpredictability and chaos that comes out of the Oval Office and we will be dealing with it.” Canada's to-do list now runs long. Workers will cry out for relief. Exporters will scramble for alternatives to American markets. Governments will be consumed by it all. Our MIKE BLANCHFIELD reported on Ottawa's opening salvo. Trudeau, who had earlier met virtually with his council of Canada-U.S. advisers, reiterated the plan in his Monday statement. “Because of the tariffs imposed by the U.S., Americans will pay more for groceries, gas, and cars, and potentially lose thousands of jobs," he said. "Tariffs will disrupt an incredibly successful trading relationship. They will violate the very trade agreement that was negotiated by President Trump in his last term.” — Raring to go: Ontario Premier DOUG FORD let loose on the Trump administration during Monday remarks at a mining conference in Toronto. "If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do everything, including cut off their energy with a smile on my face," he said. The Sun's BRIAN LILLEY urged caution against that sort of all-in emotional response. But the man who made Canada-is-not-for-sale hats famous in January soaked in the vibes. "I’ve never seen patriotism like this in my entire life, running wild across the country, and we’re just going to keep ramping it up over and over again," Ford said Monday. — Autos in peril: The rhetoric north of the border sounds surreal. FLAVIO VOLPE, the head of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association whose members could face deep job losses in coming days, set the terms of the fight for Canada: "Who we are and how strong our resolve is can only be tested under stress. Some of us will disappoint each other, others will emerge from the fire as the light," he told Playbook. "It was never about fentanyl or the Canada/US border," former Trudeau adviser GERRY BUTTS wrote on LinkedIn. "Hopefully everyone on this side of it now recognizes the severe threat the American president poses to Canada." "Elbows up," added Butts, echoing Scarborough-born actor MIKE MYERS' recent call to action from the Saturday Night Live stage. CHARMED, I'M SURE — So much for the month-long lobbying offensive that followed a 30-day tariff reprieve brokered thanks to a pair of Trump-Trudeau phone calls last month. It wasn't for lack of air miles. Trudeau's traveling sales team might as well have shared a guest room at Amb. KIRSTEN HILLMAN's residence. They pounded the pavement alongside senior bureaucrats. — Roadshow warriors: Finance Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC, Foreign Minister MÉLANIE JOLY, Public Safety Minister DAVID MCGUINTY, Defense Minister BILL BLAIR, Industry Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE, Energy Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON, Immigration Minister MARC MILLER, Transport Minister ANITA ANAND, Agriculture Minister LAWRENCE MACAULAY, RCMP Commissioner MICHAEL DUHEME, Fentanyl "Czar" KEVIN BROSSEAU, Canada Border Services Agency President ERIN O'GORMAN. And don't forget all 13 Canadian premiers, some of whom paid multiple visits. — Meeting marathon: Hillman and her team booked at least 75 meetings over a two-day period last week. She hosted a "Canada Day" reception meant to win friends and supporters. CBC's “The House” followed her around as she racked up the steps. — Most important takeaway: That goes to Miller, who sounded a note of futility as he confided to Playbook that one man's opinion rules them all in Washington. “No matter who you meet at the highest level, what is quite clear is that the decision ultimately is made by the president — and it can change,” Miller said at the tail end of a stateside sojourn. ELSEWHERE IN TRUMPWORLD — The Canada file wasn't the only hot one on the Resolute Desk as Monday rolled on. Shortly after our colleagues reported the U.S.-Ukraine critical minerals deal that collapsed Friday might be back on the table, they filed an update: Trump halted all Ukraine aid. “We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution," a White House official told POLITICO. Earlier Monday, Reuters reported that American officials were drawing up proposals for relief to Russians caught up in sanctions. | 
