Earlier in the day, cabinet ministers were careful not to declare victory after Trump was sworn into office without mentioning Canada at all, and with no sign of the punishing tariffs he's been threatening since the November election.

Canada’s outgoing prime minister and the leader of the country’s oil rich province of Alberta are confident Canada can avoid the 25% tariffs President Donald Trump says he will impose on Canada and Mexico on Feb.

Mr Trump had threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on Canada, Mexico and other trading partners. Still, Mr Trump pledged in his inaugural address that tariffs would be coming and said foreign countries would be paying the trade penalties, even though those taxes are currently paid by domestic importers and often passed along to consumers.