U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the trigger on Friday — many of our exports into the U.S. will be smacked with a 25% tariff, starting as soon as today. Oil and gas export taxes will kick in later this month, probably at 10%.

It’s our move. Sources we’re talking with say we best tread carefully.

Reporter Jonathan Got attended a webinar presented by the Global Risk Institute last week featuring Trevor Tombe, an economics professor at the University of Calgary. Tombe’s advice? Go after symbolic U.S. goods like Kentucky bourbon and Tennessee whiskey rather than participating in a full-on trade war, in order to avoid recession.

Meanwhile, The Globe and Mail reported this week that Ottawa is considering “a multibillion-dollar, pandemic-style bailout” for Canadians affected by the tariffs. It probably won’t come to that, but it’s up for discussion.

That report came at the same time as a C.D. Howe Institute warning that Canada is in no shape to tackle another program of that size. The research institute figures that Canada’s public debt needs to come down about 10 percentage points, as a percentage of GDP, to make something like what Ottawa’s talking about feasible.

I asked John Lester, a fellow-in-residence there to help us crunch the numbers.

“During the pandemic, both levels of government did about $430 billion worth of stimulus to protect incomes,” Lester said. He estimated that federal spending alone from 2021 to 2023 grew the debt — again, as a percentage of GDP — by 15 points. A repeat performance to combat Trump’s tariffs would saddle us with a federal debt at about 90% of GDP.

“Even if they did half as much, you’re still talking about a big deficit at a time when people are uncertain about what’s going to happen,” Lester said.

If Trump has something other than a tough round of trade negotiations in mind, and we’re looking at tariffs for an extended period, Ottawa will have to be ready with a plan to pay down whatever additional debt it racks up trying to keep Canada afloat.

Otherwise, we’ll find ourselves facing off against the planet’s largest economy, with limited capacity to utilize fiscal policy.

Columnist Stephanie Holmes-Winton struck a chord with her piece on the difference between financial and product advice, and the value of both. “Too many people have gaps in their financial plan due to a lack of independent financial advice,” she writes.

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario has begun consulting on a proposed rule that “aims to better protect consumers and strengthen oversight of MGAs.” Michelle Schriver got the story for us.

Eighteen eggs for $18! A weak loonie, the high cost of living and hefty insurance costs are pushing snowbirds out of their Florida comfort zones.

The majority of Canadians aged 50 and over report stable, if not improving financial wellbeing. “Still, 24% of respondents said they had $5,000 or less saved up for retirement,” reports Jonathan Got.