The tariff standoff between the US and Canada is heating up, and Tesla finds itself squarely in the crosshairs. Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s former finance minister and current Liberal Party leadership contender, has proposed a bold countermeasure: slapping 100% tariffs on select American goods, including Teslas, in direct response to President Trump’s threatened tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports.
In an interview with The Canadian Press, Freeland made her intentions clear. “We need to be very targeted, very surgical, very precise,” she said. The strategy isn’t just about economic retaliation — it’s personal. Tesla’s inclusion stems from CEO Elon Musk’s financial and operational backing of Trump, which Freeland didn’t shy away from addressing. “We need to look through and say who is supporting Trump and how can we make them pay a price for a tariff attack on Canada.”
Tesla’s electric vehicles sold in Canada are primarily manufactured in the US and China. Imposing tariffs would inevitably hike their prices, potentially steering Canadian EV buyers toward other automakers. This could be a significant blow to Tesla, which dominates Canada’s EV market with its Model Y and Model 3 leading in sales.
Freeland, who resigned from her finance minister post last year partly over disagreements on handling Trump’s economic threats, is now using this issue to define her leadership campaign. “One of the characteristics of the Trump administration is they like to traffic in uncertainty,” she remarked. “There are lots of reports about there being internal debates in the US (administration), so let’s use that to our advantage. And let’s put some cards on the table and be very clear that if they hit us, we will hit them back.”
The stakes are high. Canada’s EV adoption rate is outpacing that of the US, with nearly 17% of new cars sold in the third quarter of 2024 being fully electric, compared to just 8% in the US. Quebec’s aggressive EV incentives have fueled this growth, making Tesla’s dominance even more pronounced — and vulnerable.
As Trump’s policies ripple across borders, Canada’s response is no longer confined to diplomatic channels. It’s taking direct aim at the businesses tied to his political machinery, and Tesla is at the forefront of that retaliation.