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Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland, candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, answers questions from journalists as she makes her way to a meeting of the Liberal caucus on Parliament Hill on Jan. 23, 2025.

Justin Tang/The Canadian Press

OTTAWA—Chrystia Freeland, the former deputy prime minister who helped draft Canada’s response to Donald Trump’s tariff threat, says “hope is not a plan” as the federal Liberal government insists there is still time to avoid the U.S. president’s 25 per cent whack on all Canadian products.

Trump again promised Saturday to slap tariffs on imports from this country, cranking up his anti-Canada rhetoric, inflating trade deficit numbers as a so-called $250-billion “subsidy,” and saying that Canada “doesn’t really exist” without the U.S.

Tonda MacCharles is Ottawa Bureau Chief and a senior reportercovering federal politics. Follow her on Twitter: @tondamacc.