Canadian banking heavyweights Bank of Nova Scotia and Bank of Montreal kicked off the country's bank earnings Tuesday and largely played down tariff concerns on their earnings calls.

Scott Thomson, chief executive at Bank of Nova Scotia, said that strong fundamentals and current tariffs limited to just 5% of exports are tempering U.S.-Canada trade uncertainties to "manageable" levels.

"I think we should use this as a country, use this moment to accelerate further the Prime Minister's agenda, removing inter-provincial trade barriers, reducing the timing of approvals, getting big things done, and continuing to diversify our trade while also continuing the great trade relationship we have with the U.S," Thomson said. "There is uncertainty, but it does feel like a manageable force to get through."

Bank of Montreal Chief Executive Darryl White concurred. "The Canada-U.S. relationship is going through a period of adjustment," White said. "The world is looking for places that can deliver long-term growth and support resiliency in an increasingly uncertain environment, and Canada has real advantages-a stable financial system, abundant resources, world class talent and a platform to export globally through the world's most comprehensive set of free trade agreements."

Both banks beat analyst earnings expectations. Scotiabank's third-quarter overall revenue rose 11% to 10.54 billion Canadian dollars. Bank of Montreal gained 10% in revenue to C$9.9 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia stock is up about 5% in morning trading, and Bank of Montreal ticked down about 0.1%.