U.S. President Donald Trump to speak to Congress

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to deliver a speech to Congress tonight.

The speech, scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET, is not an official State of the Union speech, but it will be the president’s first major address since his return to Washington.

It will also be his first time speaking publicly since he launched a trade war against America’s three largest trading partners.

The theme of the speech is “Renewal of the American Dream,” according to the White House.

CBC News will have special coverage of the speech with chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault, starting at 8 p.m. ET.

Trump is expected to lay out his plans for the American people over the next weeks and months after an intense start to his second term, which has seen the president prove his willingness to cast aside longstanding diplomatic relationships in favour of the “America first” vision for his administration.

No relationship was targeted more swiftly than the one with Canada.

The president’s crushing tariffs on virtually all of the Canadian goods flowing into the United States came into effect on Tuesday despite Ottawa’s attempts to placate the president over the last 30 days. Canada swung back with its own tariffs on $30 billion worth of American goods, driving a stake firmly between two typically-kindred nations.

Earlier Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described Trump’s decision as a “very dumb” move. He said he was at a loss as to why the American president would go after an ally, but said he suspects he wants to hit the Canadian economy in the back of the knees because he believes that will make the country easier to absorb.

“He can do damage to the Canadian economy but he is going to rapidly find out, as American families are going to rapidly find out, it’s going to hurt people on both sides of the border,” Trudeau said.

The tariffs had a profound and immediate effect Tuesday, upending diplomatic relationships and rattling global financial markets. Economists have warned the trade war could increase inflation.

Some Democratic lawmakers said they would skip Trump’s speech to Congress. First lady Melania Trump will be joined at the address by selected guests, including the family of Corey Comperatore, a firefighter killed by the gunman who grazed Trump with a bullet during a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., last July.

Other Democratic lawmakers reportedly plan to wear blue and yellow scarves to show support for Ukraine, which is no longer receiving military aid from the U.S. after a meeting between the two nations’ leaders unravelled at the White House last Friday.

Trump and U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance berated Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy inside the Oval Office, speaking loudly over the European leader as they called him “disrespectful” and said he had been ungrateful for American aid.

Trump tried to pressure Zelenskyy to agree to negotiating a peace deal with Russia, the nation that invaded his own three years ago. On Monday, Zelenskyy said on X that the meeting was “regrettable” and that he intended to “make things right.”

Throughout his campaign, Trump made clear that a second presidency would see him crack down on other nations he perceived as taking advantage of the United States.

He has threatened to annex Canada as the 51st state, seize Greenland from Denmark and take back control of the Panama Canal.

In addition to freezing military aid for Ukraine, he also cut off foreign aid to countries in other parts of the world. He went ahead with tariffs on goods from China, Mexico and Canada, despite Ottawa’s attempts to placate the president over the last 30 days.

Those moves and intentions align with the theme of Trump’s inaugural address on Jan. 20. 

“America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world,” Trump said in that speech.