it doesn't need to be that way. >> maurice: ed o'keefe joins us from ottawa. what we expect the canadians to do in response? >> reporter: today the head of ontario didn't rule out potentially cutting off the electricity that he sends to minnesota, michigan, and new york if this continues. that obviously would be a big pain point. what we don't know is how the cost of this is going to be felt by american households. arguably the longer this goes on inevitably the price will be there and we'll see about other tariffs canadians might put in place, retaliating on the ones we are putting on them. >> john: ed, normally we see you from the white house. what is the white house saying about what people should think about these economic difficulties? >> reporter: in part, they are cleaning up the unclear message or the mixed message from the president over the weekend about whether or not he can definitively rule out a recession, which he could not. but they argue short-term stock market pain is designed to readjust the american economy for long-term gain felt more by th

because that will make it easier to annex us. >> ed o'keefe joining us now in canada.e know the canadian prime minister, his time ends there. who next is the president of the united states expected to deal with? >> reporter: yeah. so remember, trudeau announced in january he would be stepping down after nearly a decade. tomorrow, members of his party are getting together to name a successor who then picks up this tariff fight. the leading contender is a guy named mark carney, an economist who once led the central banks of canada and britain. the other contender is a woman who used to work with trudeau. whoever wins becomes prime minister in the coming days and will have to call a general election by october. >> all right. thank you so much. >>> tonight president trump is backing a house republican plan to avert a government shutdown next week. he's also playing down reports of infighting between some of his cabinet members and adviser elon musk. cbs's nicole killian is in west palm beach with the details. good evening to you. >> reporter: good evening, jericka. tonight

cbs news senior white house correspondent ed o'keefe is in ottawa tonight tracking it all. lot of excitement in that room, ed. >> reporter: that's right, jericka. you know, president trump's threats of on-again, off-again tariffs have shaken stock markets around the world, and now they're rattling the race to lead canada. late last week he threatened punishing new tariffs on canadian dairy and lumber. >> canada has been ripping us off for years on tariffs for lumber and for dairy products. >> reporter: but today president trump's commerce secretary said those tariffs aren't happening yet. >> you know the president's going to respond to it, but he's agreed not to respond until april 2nd. >> reporter: the back and forth is infuriating canadians. >> uncertainty cannot become the new certainty. >> reporter: francois philippe champagne is the canadian official negotiating with commerce secretary howard lutnick. >> i think you've seen a side of canadians that americans have never seen. you know, these canadians can bite. and you've seen it. and stand up. and for good reason becau

cbs's senior white house correspondent ed o'keefe is in ottawa tracking it all. >> reporter: late lasteek he threatened punishing new tariffs on canadian dairy and lumber. >> canada has been ripping us off for years on tariffs for lumber and for dairy products. >> reporter: but president trump's commerce secretary said those tariffs aren't happening yet. >> you know the president's going to respond to it, but he's agreed not to respond until april 2nd. >> reporter: the back and forth is infuriating canadians. >> uncertainty cannot become the new certainty. >> reporter: francois-philippe champagne is the canadian official negotiating with commerce secretary howard lutnick. >> i think you've seen a side of canadians that americans have never seen. you know, these canadians can bite. and you've seen it and stand up and for good reason because we're standing up for what we believe is right. >> reporter: his comments come as the canadian prime minister justin trudeau steps down, saying good-bye to his party and hitting back hard at trump. >> we will continue to be in a trade war that was la

. >> john: and that is where we find our ed o'keefe, who begins ed?e.- >> reporter: good evening. it was a relatively civil affair for about 40 minutes as the leaders discussed the war, but then the conversation turned as the president and vice president accused zelenskyy of being ungrateful for american support. >> he's all dressed up today. >> reporter: that jab set the tone for the day for these two men who share plenty of history. both tv stars before being elected presidents. ukraine's volodymyr zelenskyy was at the center of president trump's first impeachment. he was accused of asking zelenskyy to investigate unproven claims of fraud he was accused of asking zelenskyy to investigate unproven claims of fraud committed by it's something trump referenced at one point today. >> russia, russia, russia. you ever hear of that deal? that was a phony -- that was a phony, hunter biden, joe biden scam. >> reporter: trump has more recently called zelenskyy a dictator and falsely accused ukraine of starting the war with russia. against that backdrop, the wa

senior white house and political correspondent, ed o'keefe has the latest from ottawa. >> reporter: wellrgaret, president trump is now threatening tariffs on canadian dairy and lumber exports, even as he holds off on the broader tariffs on goods covered by the u.s./mexico/canada trade agreement at least until early april. this has mostly been a war of words so far, rather than a war over the wallet, but that's going to change in the coming day as ontario is now threatening to tariff electricity it wires to minnesota, michigan, and new york. >> i'm going to put a 25% tariff on electricity, the 1.5 million homes and businesses until monday until president trump drops these tariffs. he has to understand that he can't attack our country economically, and expect us to roll over. >> reporter: it's not entirely clear how the cost of those tariffs would be passed onto american households. amid the tariff war, there's also a canadian transfer of power under way. justin trudeau announced he would be stepping down. his liberal party anoints a ske successor. it's a race between mark carny and christ

ed o'keefe is at a curling center in toronto. ed? >> reporter: john, good evening.ain off-again tariffs are mostly off again, except for here in canada's largest province, which is warning of economic pain for at least some americans. >> we have to put an end to this. this is mass chaos right now around north america and actually around the world. >> reporter: doug ford is premier of ontario, the hub of canada's economy and home to 40% of canadians. he dismissed president trump's pause on tariffs. >> he said that before, and he switched his mind a few days later, a week later. so, once i touch a stove and i get burned once, i don't touch that stove again. he needs to drop all tariffs. >> reporter: and if he doesn't drop them for good, ford says ontario, which transmits electricity to the united states, will put a 25% tariff on power sent to minnesota, michigan, and new york starting monday. ford got into a heated phone conversation this week with the u.s. commerce secretary and has banned the sale of american-made spirits in ontario liquor stores. so right here you

cbs' ed o'keefe traveled to canada where he discovered the anxiety goes well beyond wall street. >> wet an end to this. this is mass chaos right now around north america, and actually around the world. >> reporter: doug ford the premier of ontario, the hub of canada's economy, and home to 40% of canadians. he dismissed president trump's pause on tariffs. >> he said that before. and he switched his mind. a few days later, a week later. so once a touch a stove and get burned once, i don't get burned again. he needs to drop all tariffs. >> reporter: and if he doesn't drop them for good, he says ontario, which transmitsive 2/5% of power to the united states will put a tariff starting monday. ford got into a heated phone conversation this week with the u.s. commerce secretary and has banned the sale of american-made spirits in ontario liquor stores. so if i hear you, you're turning off the lights and running the bourbon dry. >> the last thing i want to do is turn off the lights. i'll put a tariff. but let's straighten this out. >> and to the american homeowner in minnesota or new york or so

we will talk now to senior white house and political correspondent ed o'keefe with the latest from ourws" polling. ed, we've been looking at these same polls and we've seen warning signs for the president when it comes to the economy in particular. >> reporter: that's right, maurice. 51-49% approval rating, evenly split it would seem. when you ask, what do you want to hear about tonight? overwhelmingly they want to hear him talk about lowering prices and that's because in part 77% of americans innermost cbs -- more recent polls say their incomes are not keeping up with inflation. they want to hear about plans for medicare and medicaid. conversation among republicans about revamping the program. less about things like cutting government spending which of course has gotten such outsized attention given elon musk in the department of government efficiency/and government operations across the federal government. among those watching, it's important to remember and think about who he's addressing. 54% of those planning to tune in tonight are republican. therefore favor the president. that's