Trump’s tariff plan still unknown to Canadian officials, with inauguration only hours away [Video]

With only hours to go until U.S. president-elect Donald Trump heads back to the Oval Office, Canadian officials say they still don’t know whether he will follow through on his standing threat to level punishing tariffs on Canadian goods. 

“We’ve done a lot of good advocacy work, but we’re also now ready to respond to whatever decision [Trump] makes, assuming they come next,” said Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc during an interview on Rosemary Barton Live that aired Sunday.

Trump has threatened to levy a 25 per cent across-the-board tariff on Canadian goods — a move that experts and lawmakers have warned would be devastating for the Canadian economy.

Canadian officials have scrambled to get Trump to back off. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Trump in late November. Ontario has threatened to cut off energy exports. Now, Canada has prepared counter-tariffs that would apply to $37 billion in goods that would be less harmful to the Canadian economy.

When asked whether he …