Trump's Canada Tariffs Hit 50%, Lake Ontario Gets Renamed, and GOP Senators Are Furious Ahead of the Midterms

President Trump's trade war with Canada has escalated, and Republicans on Capitol Hill are expressing discontent with the timing.

The U.S. imposed a 50% tariff on a range of Canadian goods in late July, with those duties taking effect this month, according to Fox News. Canada hit back with its own tariffs of up to 50% on U.S. imports. Last week, Canada went further, announcing new tariffs on more than 700 American goods and doubling its duties on U.S. steel and aluminum to match American rates, according to NPR.

Trump also announced tariffs on Canadian-made cars this week, and in the same stretch eased tariffs on imported beef, according to CNN. That combination, CNN reported, has GOP lawmakers on edge. Cheaper beef imports could undercut American ranchers just as the Canada fight threatens to raise prices on a broad range of goods, all with Election Day weeks away.

The Money Argument

Asked how the trade fight would affect affordability ahead of the midterms, Trump didn't back down. "We're losing $62 billion a year on average with Canada, and if you really look at it, we're losing more than that," he said. "It's too much. We can't lose it."

On Truth Social, Trump accused Canada of "ripping off" the U.S. for decades, citing 400% tariffs he says Canada charges American farmers and a decade-long refusal to certify Gulfstream jets while favoring a Canadian competitor.

Trade imbalances and non-tariff barriers like certification delays are legitimate policy complaints. Whether a 50% across-the-board tariff war is the right tool to fix them is a separate question, and it is dividing his own party.

AP News, in its fact-checking coverage, flagged that one of Trump's specific claims—that U.S. banks cannot operate in Canada—is not accurate. That's a factual correction worth noting given how central the "ripped off" narrative is to Trump's public case for the tariffs.

Republicans Are Breaking Ranks

More than a dozen GOP lawmakers have criticized the tariff escalation or the beef decision, according to CNN. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso asked the administration for policies that make it "easier, not harder, for Wyoming ranchers to feed America." Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton called the beef import plan "ill-advised." Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer said she was "extremely disappointed."

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, locked in a tight reelection race, told reporters, "Imposing new tariffs on Canada is a mistake. I really want us to go back to the very friendly, economically beneficial relationship that we have with our Canadian neighbors," according to NPR. Collins has voted repeatedly to halt the Canada tariffs and has pushed the administration to cool its rhetoric.

GOP strategist Doug Heye told CNN, "There's no Republican on the ballot who will tell you they think this is a good idea. Things are too expensive, and it's hard to see how this trade war would do anything to help any Republicans."

The House already tried to reverse Trump's earlier Canada tariffs back in February, passing a bill with six Republicans in support. Only one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, voted against it, according to Fox News.

Canada Says the Pressure Is Deliberate

Canadian officials aren't hiding that the retaliation is partly aimed at American politics. Industry Minister Melanie Joly told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation the tariffs are designed to put pressure on specific U.S. states and races. "We are putting pressure clearly on different states and different people. We don't want to do that. We don't want this trade war. We didn't start it," Joly said, as reported by NPR.

Maine is a prime target. Canada is the state's largest trading partner, according to International Trade Association data cited by NPR, and its lobster, wood products and farming sectors are deeply tied to cross-border trade. Collins' Democratic opponent, Troy Jackson, has argued she should use her position as Senate Appropriations Committee chair to force a change in Trump's approach, telling Maine Public that "the appropriations chair has the ability to leverage that position in a way that a lot of these things either get stopped or progress much better."

What Happens Next

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is scheduled to meet with the Republican Study Committee at its weekly lunch on Wednesday, according to Fox News, with sources telling the outlet lawmakers are expected to raise the Canada fight directly. Whether that meeting produces any shift in strategy, or whether Trump holds the line through November 2026, remains the open question hanging over Senate races in Maine and other northern border states where the trade war's economic fallout is landing hardest.