The US House of Representatives voted 219–211 to overturn Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods
A small group of Republicans broke ranks with US president Donald Trump on Wednesday over his tariffs on Canada, offering a sliver of relief to Canadian markets that spent months bracing for another trade shock.
The US House of Representatives voted 219–211 to overturn Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, with six Republicans joining Democrats to back the resolution.
The measure remains largely symbolic – it still faces a Senate vote and an almost certain veto – but it shows growing discomfort inside the GOP with a trade strategy that has already unnerved Canadian exporters, developers and lenders.
Hurd, a Republican who backed the measure, said farmers and manufacturers in his district already felt the pain from tariffs. “At the end of the day, I looked at the Constitution, I looked at what was in the best interest of my district, and I took the vote. It’s not easy, but it’s the right thing and I stand by it,” he said.
Trump responded in a Truth Social post that “any Republican, in the House or the Senate, that votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries!”
He added that “TARIFFS have given us Economic and National Security, and no Republican should be responsible for destroying this privilege.”
For Canadian housing, the stakes around these votes extend well beyond partisan drama. Tariffs and trade tensions have put a deep chill into much of the market, with Bank of Montreal chief economist Doug Porter warning that even a domestically driven sector depends heavily on confidence and jobs.
In a separate outlook, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation projected that more severe‑than‑expected tariffs could slow the recovery in sales, prices and housing starts.
Moreover, US–Canada trade frictions, the coming Canada–US–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) review and sector‑specific levies on steel, aluminum and lumber have pushed up building costs and weighed on credit appetite among lenders. Economists repeatedly stressed that while rate cuts would help mortgage borrowers, monetary policy alone could not offset a full‑blown trade war.
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