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“Hardworking Torontonians are worried, wondering if their jobs will be affected, if the cost of food — already too high — will go up even more. We have to have each other’s backs,” Chow said, hours before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Trump had agreed to delay the imposition of punishing tariffs on Canadian products by 30 days.

Chow was joined at the podium by members of her executive committee decked out in Canadian red. “A Team Canada approach is the only way forward. And Toronto is ready to do its part,” she stated. 

Trump’s tariffs of 25 per cent on Canadian goods and 10 per cent on the country’s energy had been set to begin on Tuesday. In retaliation, Trudeau had promised a 25-per-cent levy against a range of American products, raising the spectre of an escalating trade war that experts warned would severely damage the economies of both countries.

After Trudeau announced the 30-day delay, which he said would allow Canada to act on U.S. demands to strengthen security on the countries’ shared border, Chow’s office confirmed she would proceed with Toronto’s response preparations. 

Among the “initial steps” the mayor said she would take was directing city manager Paul Johnson to draft a “Toronto Action Plan” to protect residents from the economic fallout of the proposed tariffs.

The review of city procurement policies and contracts would be part of that plan. Chow didn’t rule out either barring U.S. companies from taking city contracts or cancelling existing agreements with American firms, declaring that “everything is on the table.” 

Chow also announced that the city would work with the provincial and federal governments to co-ordinate their tariff response, convene a “mayor’s economic action team” to advise her on how to defend at-risk sectors, and launch a “buy Canadian” initiative to encourage Torontonians to support local businesses.

“We will work together with the other orders of government and speak with one voice to fend off this senseless attack,” said Chow. “We will protect and care for Torontonians and Toronto jobs.”

The mayor didn’t provide an estimate for how much of Toronto’s $18.9-billion operating budget and $59.6-billion 10-year capital plan is slated to be spent on U.S. suppliers, but said the municipality’s spending power, which exceeds that of some Canadian provinces, gives it leverage.

The city couldn’t immediately say what legal or financial penalties Toronto could face if it tore up existing contracts. But in an email, Toronto spokesperson Russell Baker said city staff “are looking at all available options to carry out the will of the mayor and Toronto city council.”

Coun. Brad Bradford (Ward 19, Beaches—East York) said the procurement review was worthwhile, but cautioned that it “could be very, very expensive to rip up contracts that are underway.” 

Speaking to reporters before the delay was announced, the councillor said that while he supports efforts to protect Toronto’s economy, Chow should have had a more concrete plan in place by Monday instead of holding a “last minute” press conference.

Her strategy was only “a plan for a plan,” he said, arguing the city should be looking at reducing commercial property taxes to help local business owners weather the coming storm. 

Chow’s budget chief Coun. Shelley Carroll (Ward 17, Don Valley North) asserted work on the procurement review was already underway and she expected to hear back from the city manager soon.

“We don’t have months. We want to know what we can do right now in the short term,” she said. 

Carroll said the possibility of a trade war and the damage it could to to Toronto’s economy wouldn’t affect , which is scheduled to go to council next Tuesday. The mayor and her allies argue the spending plan will make important investments in housing, transit and community services that will help Toronto’s most vulnerable, regardless of the wider economic climate.

“We want to stay the course with this budget because it does meet the challenges that the city is facing right now,” Carroll said.

Earlier on Monday, Trump confirmed that he would delay hitting Mexico with promised 25-per-cent tariffs for one month, after that country’s president Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to send more troops to the U.S. southern border.

In less than 500 days, Toronto is supposed to partner with cities in both the U.S. and Mexico to host the . Chow said Monday it was too soon to say whether the trade dispute could disrupt those plans.