Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press

Key cabinet ministers returned to Washington Tuesday to keep pressing Canada's economic case as a month-long pause on Donald Trump's tariff threat has done little to ease Canada's concerns.

"I do think there are opportunities for conversations to enable us actually to move away from the conversation about tariffs," Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Tuesday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will hit back with steep, immediate retaliatory tariffs on American goods after U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed he is moving ahead with devastating duties on Canada starting Tuesday. 

Trump signed an executive order on Saturday to slap Canada with 25 per cent tariffs — with a lower 10 per cent duty for energy — laying the foundation for an unprecedented trade war with America's closest neighbours.

U.S. President Donald Trump will hit Canada with 25 per cent tariffs on Tuesday, with a lower 10 per cent duty for energy, government sources said — laying the foundation for a trade war with America's closest neighbours.

The federal government informed provinces Saturday that tariffs are coming, said the provincial sources, who cannot be named in order to share details that governments have not yet made public. It is not yet clear which energy exports would be included in the lower tariff category.

Canadian officials are anxiously waiting to see if U.S. President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to slap Canada with devastating tariffs Saturday.

Trump said Friday he is considering lowering tariffs on Canadian oil to 10 per cent after the White House confirmed he is going forward with 25 per cent levies on imports from Canada and Mexico.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Friday night in Washington, D.C., that it was still not clear what would happen after Trump's latest comments.

President Donald Trump will implement 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports on Saturday as promised, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday.

"I was just with the president in the Oval Office and I can confirm that tomorrow, the Feb. 1 deadline that President Trump put in to place in a statement several weeks ago, continues," Leavitt said. 

Leavitt denied a news report that said the devastating duties might be delayed until March.

U.S. President Donald Trump's press secretary says the plan to slap Canada with tariffs on Saturday is still in play, as NDP leader Jagmeet Singh called for Parliament to return to prepare for the threat of devastating duties.

Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House that she spoke with the president Monday night and he indicated Feb. 1 was "still on the books" for imposing tariffs against Canada and Mexico.

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested his administration could move ahead with with 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on Canadian imports on Feb. 1. 

He delivered the deadline on Monday evening at the White House as he signed a stack of unrelated executive orders. 

"We are thinking in terms of 25 per cent on Mexico and Canada because they are allowing vast number of people, Canada is a very bad abuser also, vast numbers of people to come in and fentanyl to come in," he told reporters Monday night.

Donald Trump is set to return to the White House with a massive agenda, leading a deeply divided United States on a starkly different path from his predecessor — and the Republican leader has signalled it means pushing away from America's closest neighbour and ally. 

Canadians will be anxiously watching inauguration day ceremonies to see what is among Trump's early priorities amid threats to slap Canada with a 25 per cent across-the-board tariff on Monday. 

Canadian politicians are descending on Washington, D.C., amid threats of 25 per cent tariffs when Donald Trump returns to the White House. Many are going to an event at the Canadian Embassy, which sits on Pennsylvania Avenue between the U.S. Capitol and the White House. Here are some of the Canadians expected to be in Washington Monday: 

President-elect Donald Trump called his meeting with Justin Trudeau productive and said the prime minister made a commitment to work with the United States to end the drug crisis amid the threat of stiff tariffs.