Posthaste: Is Canada's thirst for tariff retaliation 'misguided' or the only option against Trump?

Poll after poll shows angry Canadians are on board when it comes to retaliating against United States President Donald Trump‘s tariffs.

So far, Canada has implemented 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs on a list of $60-billion worth of items ranging from candles to canes and alcohol to jewelry and gold.

But there are pros and cons to retaliating, according to Canadian economists and other experts. Here’s what four of them have to say.

“You should probably be level-headed about what has actually been implemented and not get over our skis too much,” Peter Morrow, an associate professor at the University of Toronto’s economics department, said.

He said Canada has so far taken a very measured approach by not announcing pre-emptive retaliation, and he likened Ottawa’s approach to Mexico’s.

Morrow said policymakers always have choices, which include doing nothing, retaliating or implementing export taxes similar to what Ontario Premier Doug Ford wanted to do on electricity exports to the U.S. They can also seek out trade partnerships that have nothing to do with the U.S.

But with the outlook still quite murky, he is inclined to wait and see what happens.

“It seems like Doug Ford and Howard Lutnick (U.S. secretary of commerce) are having conversations,” he said. “I’m going to let myself be optimistic and hope that reason can prevail on some level.”

In addition to the new retaliatory tariffs imposed by Canada on Thursday, Derek Holt, vice-president and head of capital markets economics at the Bank of Nova Scotia, has some other ideas.

For one, he thinks Ottawa should cancel its order for U.S.-built F-35 fighter jets. Liberal Leader Mark Carney has called for a review of the deal with Lockheed Martin Corp.

Furthermore, “don’t spend