Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CM-T chief executive officer Victor Dodig says Donald Trump’s trade war should be short-lived and recommends against retaliation from Canada.

During CIBC’s annual shareholder meeting Thursday, Mr. Dodig said the bank is encouraging the government to develop policies that will support businesses and Canadians through economic uncertainty.

“It will not last that long, and we will help our clients bridge through to the future,” Mr. Dodig said in response to a shareholder question.

“In the very interim, we’ve got some announcements that were made in Washington yesterday and, in my own personal view, it’s best not to retaliate. Let’s get USMCA 2.0 renegotiated as soon as possible.”

On Wednesday, Mr. Trump levied global tariffs on his country’s trading partners while sparing Canada and Mexico for imported goods compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement. However, Canada still faces 25-per-cent tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles.

Late Thursday morning, Prime Minister Mark Carney imposed tariffs on U.S.-made automobiles that are not compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, but did not levy broader retaliatory tariffs.

Mr. Dodig said the Canada-U.S. trade relationship is the “envy of countries around the world,” with the two countries conducting more than $2-billion in trade every day.

“But to secure our future prosperity, Canada must confront the risks in our current approach to trade, avoid complacency, and think big when it comes to what we can offer the world,” he said.

The annual shareholder meeting is set to be Mr. Dodig’s last as CEO of Canada’s fifth-largest bank.

In March, CIBC said Mr. Dodig will retire at the end of October after 11 years at the helm. He will pass the baton to Harry Culham, head of the bank’s capital markets division.

During his tenure, Mr. Dodig rebuilt CIBC’s balance sheet and closed the largest acquisition in the bank’s history by acquiring a Chicago-based lender for $4.9-billion. In 2024, CIBC’s stock posted the best performance among Canada’s six biggest banks.

Mr. Culham took on the role of chief operating officer April 1, and will succeed Mr. Dodig as CEO on Oct. 31. Mr. Dodig will act as a senior adviser to the board and new CEO until the end of April, 2026.

Mr. Culham first joined CIBC as an intern in Vancouver. He worked in senior banking roles across Europe and Asia before rejoining CIBC in 2008. He took on the role leading the bank’s capital markets business in 2015, working closely with Mr. Dodig throughout most of his tenure as CEO.

“Over the coming weeks and months, my focus will be get to be get out and speak to as many of our team members, our clients, our shareholders and our community members as I possibly can,” Mr. Culham told shareholders.

Shareholders voted Thursday against proposals calling on the bank disclose financial for energy projects, hold an annual advisory vote on its environmental and climate objectives, publish compensation ratios, and other matters.

All of the proposals were rejected by shareholders. Overall, about 45 per cent of eligible shares were used for votes at the meeting.