Canada’s enterprise press remained sanguine. Belligerent statements by the American president, one Toronto-based newspaper wrote, have been mere marketing campaign rhetoric; he would finally resolve in opposition to tariffs that may “arouse resentment in Canada”. Such confidence turned out to be gravely misplaced. In 1930 Herbert Hoover signed into legislation the notorious Smoot-Hawley tariffs, named after their congressional sponsors. The typical levy on American imports elevated from 40% in 1929 to 60% by 1932, and the worldwide commerce system unravelled.
