Trump accuses Canada of being 'entitled' as alcohol import ban takes effect

U.S. President Donald Trump accused Canada of being “entitled” hours before his ban on imports of Canadian alcohol, some dairy products and motorcycles was set to take effect.

“They take advantage of us. They feel entitled, and, you know, they get 95 per cent of the business they do with the United States,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office on Monday.

“There’s so many things and they feel entitled, and, you know, they’re not a state. There’s nothing they have that we need.”

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The import ban was scheduled to begin at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday.

Trump signed executive orders on Sept. 8 to impose the ban, which he said was a response to retaliatory counter-tariffs by the Canadian government on some U.S. goods.

Those Canadian measures were triggered after Trump introduced a wave of 50 per cent tariffs on hundreds of Canadian goods in August valued at about C$28 billion.

Business leaders say the new import ban will lead to a “tornado of changes.”

“We had a great competitive advantage for manufacturing, and we’re losing that,” said Craig Peters, founder and CEO of Maverick Distillery.

“Just today alone, we’ve got two tractor trailers that are shipping across the border just to try and get them across before that midnight deadline, where all Canadian products will then be banned from entering the U.S.”

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s president and CEO, Candace Laing, said in a statement on Sept. 9 that these bans are “a tornado of changes at once, intended to overwhelm.”

“For standing up, this is actually exactly what you’d expect. The U.S. Administration is punishing Canada, by punishing themselves, for the whole world to see. They’re seeking to make an example of Canada, even though everyone knows we’re their closest trading partner,” said Laing.

“It will be on the U.S. government to justify to its businesses, workers and communities the price for them of going it alone and paying more to do it.”

In online comments reacting to the trade dispute, some Canadians expressed frustration with the U.S. actions.

“Trump and the USA broke the trade agreement and imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum. He and the USA are solely to blame for that,” one commenter wrote.

“We must stand up to the bully and be counted. Appeasement is not the answer.”

Others criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government. “Carney promised a trade deal in 2025 that could have avoided this, but he didn’t deliver,” another commenter said, referring to the prime minister.

The commenter added, “You 350 layed off steel workers, stand up. We’ll ‘count’ you while you’re in line at the empty food bank.”

Some commenters suggested Canadian businesses were already charging American customers in border areas like Point Roberts higher rates.

“Our HVAC team services this point roberts area and we definitely charge them 3x to 6x times what we should actually bill out,” one person wrote.

Another said, “I will personally take advantage of every American customer in point roberts. Ww already glcgarge 5x what it should cost for roosing repairs.”

With files from Global News