Canada’s trade war with the U.S. heated up as new Canadian retaliatory tariffs took effect on July 1 on a range of American goods typically bought by B.C. cross-border shoppers.

The changes means consumers could pay more for everything from American whiskey to Florida orange juice.  At the B.C.-Washington border, some took advantage of the Canada Day long weekend to dart across the 49th parallel to buy groceries.

But it’s not exactly clear how, or if, border agents will be rigorous in applying the surtaxes.  One Canadian shopper waiting in the vehicle lineup, who didn’t want to be identified, said a border agent was advising, “We're not going to nail people for grocery shopping.”

Officially the list of $16.6 billion of tariffs on U.S. goods is long, and includes: chocolate, yogurt, toilet paper, strawberry jam, mattresses, and boats, just to name a few. A wider list of affected products is here.

Many Canadian shoppers shrugged at the tariffs, hoping cooler heads will prevail.  “It’s like a school yard fight between Trudeau and Trump,” said one B.C. driver.  “Trump is a bully and we don’t like to be bullied,” said another.

Ottawa’s 16.6 billion in counter measures were in retaliation to the $16.6 billion in U.S. tariffs, ordered by President Trump, against Canadian steel and aluminum on May 31.

Jerry Dias, Unifor’s national president, called Canada’s retaliatory efforts a “necessary evil.”

“Donald Trump has declared war on Canada and we have absolutely no choice but to retaliate,” he told CTV News Channel. “Corporations, as well as our members, don’t know what the next move is because we’re convinced that Donald Trump doesn’t know what his next move is either.”

Prime Minister Trudeau skipped the Canada Day festivities on Parliament Hill to meet with workers at a food processing plant in Leamington, Ont. that makes tomato paste for French’s ketchup.  A rival ketchup plant in the area was shuttered three years ago to move to the U.S.

But Sam Diab, the president of Highbury Canco, who received the prime minister at the plant on Sunday, resisted the idea that Trudeau’s visit was meant to highlight a risk to Canadian manufacturer jobs in the trade war. 

“The short term discussions and challenges that are going on, as far as I’m concerned, it’s negotiations.  And in our business, we have negotiations every day.  Sometimes they are pleasant and sometimes they are not, but you just work through it,” he said.

With files from CTV Vancouver’s Scott Roberts, and CTV Windsor’s Michelle Maluske