Hour 2 of Ottawa Now for Fri. January 31st, 2025

Heading into Friday morning, the official launch date of U.S. President Trump’s tariffs was up in the air. On Thursday, we learned that his plan could be unveiled in two parts. Then, there was a chance that Canada could avoid his tariffs until March 1st, with specific tax exemptions up for debate. Until the U.S. President makes a public announcement, it is anyone’s guess. Hours later, with no official word from the man himself, it appears that those tariffs will be delivered on Saturday regardless. However, a new report from the Conference Board of Canada says that Ottawa’s economy is likely to avoid most of the damage, although a reduction in the federal civil service could slow things down. Kristy Cameron digs deeper with Pedro Antunes, a Chief Economist with the Conference Board of Canada. Plus, would you ever live in the Kingston Penitentiary? It sounds like one of Canada’s most historic prisons could be a future destination for housing projects. CFRA’s Chris Holski has more on that story in Hour 2.