President Donald Trump will implement 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports on Saturday as promised, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday — while insisting the move won't trigger a trade war with America's closest neighbours.

The White House was emphatic on the rate Canada and Mexico should expect: 25 per cent, a number that premiers, industry and union leaders have warned would devastate Canadian jobs. The Bank of Canada also cautioned that a trade war based on 25 per cent tariffs would trigger a recession.