Any Canadian response to U.S. tariffs will be regionally fair and equitable and not single out Alberta, Canada's main oil-producing province, Canada's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said on Wednesday.

Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources said Canada's response to Trump's tariffs would focus on products in a way that hurts Americans more than Canadians.

If the U.S. follows through on President Donald Trump's threat to impose massive tariffs on Canada as early as Saturday, Ottawa could hit back with retaliatory tariffs within hours or days, according to international trade lawyers.

The Bank of Canada on Wednesday trimmed its key policy rate by 25 basis points to 3%, cut growth forecasts and warned Canadians that a tariff war triggered by the United States could cause major economic damage.

Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said that there is not much central bankers can do to offset the economic consequences of a trade war with the U.S.

President Donald Trump has already forced Colombia to accept deportees by threatening tariffs and is readying the same move against Canada and Mexico as soon as Saturday