The Financial Post reports in its Saturday edition that a spike in custom import duties shows proceeds from retaliatory tariffs are starting to roll into the coffers of Canada's federal government. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post says duties paid on imports rose a nominal $546-million to $1.95-billion in the first three months of the year, a 39-per-cent quarterly increase, according to Statistics Canada. That was likely driven by retaliatory tariffs imposed in March by the federal government on imports of steel, aluminum and various other U.S. products in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs. Canada and Mexico were among the first countries targeted by Mr. Trump's tariff policies. The figures are reported on a so-called net basis, the agency said, meaning they factor in "repayments made to importers as part of existing relief programs or remission orders." In his election platform, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he expects as much as $20-billion in tariff revenue this fiscal year to help offset the impact of additional expenditures for his ambitious plan to boost Canada's economic growth potential. The government says about 70 per cent of the countertariffs implemented by Canada are still in place.