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 towards tariffs that may “arouse resentment in Canada”. Such confidence turned out to be gravely misplaced. In 1930 Herbert Hoover signed into regulation the notorious Smoot-Hawley tariffs, named after their congressional sponsors. The common levy on American imports elevated from 40% in 1929 to 60% by 1932, and the worldwide commerce system unravelled.
