U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to give Canadian investors another reprieve from tariffs on Wednesday.

Trump suggested that stiff new levies on imports from Canada and Mexico would now take effect on April 2, about a month later than an earlier deadline. The president originally said that they would be implemented when he took office in January but has since delayed them.

However, a White House official appeared to contradict Trump, stating that the sweeping 25% tariffs were still on track to roll out on March 4, pending the president’s review of Canadian and Mexican actions to secure their borders and curb the flow of migrants and fentanyl into the U.S.

Canadian investors, along with the federal government, provinces and territories, have been bracing for the effects of the tariffs for months. Almost half of Canadian companies surveyed by KPMG (48%) are planning to move investments and production to the U.S. to avoid the tariffs.

Trump’s remark came during his first cabinet meeting, where he also floated the idea of a 25% “reciprocal” tariff on European cars and other goods. Earlier this month, the administration had set March 4 as the effective date for the duties on Mexican and non-energy Canadian goods. On Monday, Trump had said the levies would proceed as scheduled but also referenced other executive orders tied to his growing tariff agenda, the Canadian Press reported.

Canadian officials and premiers have been making frequent visits to Washington in recent weeks to determine what measures might convince Trump to abandon his tariff plans.

Meanwhile, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated that fentanyl-related actions were paused for 30 days, but he was unclear on whether the March 4 tariff deadline remained in effect.

“So the big transaction is April 2, but the fentanyl-related things, we’re working hard on the border,” Lutnick said during the cabinet meeting, Reuters reported. “At the end of that 30 days, they have to prove to the president that they’ve satisfied him in that regard. If they have, he’ll give them a pause, or he won’t.”

Canada’s Finance Ministry and Mexico’s Economy Ministry declined to comment on Trump’s remarks.

Earlier this week, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne told reporters in Montreal that the federal government will continue to fight the tariffs.

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