What to know
- Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended Canada-U.S. trade negotiations Friday night, saying last-minute changes proposed by Washington were “unfair” and “uneconomic.”
- Without a deal, Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs on billions of dollars of Canadian products have gone into effect.
- Carney says he plans to match the tariffs dollar for dollar, with the new Canadian counter-tariffs set to take effect Sept. 8.
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford and B.C. Premier David Eby are among the political leaders backing a strong Canadian response.
Trade tensions between Canada and the United States have escalated dramatically after negotiations for a new agreement collapsed just before a midnight deadline Friday.
Late Friday night, Prime Minister Mark Carney posted a lengthy statement to his X account, outlining the steps his government has taken to further trade negotiations with the U.S. and strike a fair deal.
Carney says no deal was reached due to “last minute changes” the U.S. proposed that were “unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal.”
The office of the U.S. Trade Representative published its own statement on X, offering a sharply different explanation for why negotiations collapsed, accusing Canada of upending “the careful balance reached in the past days.”
“Despite the U.S. offer to Canada to receive the best treatment of any major exporter to our market, new demands and walk backs of other commitments by Canada have upended the careful balance reached in the past days,” the statement reads.
“In addition, Canada is continuing to maintain its prolonged retaliation against the United States, including, among other things, flat-out prohibitions on certain American goods and services.”
The collapse came after days of intensive negotiations that had appeared to bring the two countries closer to an agreement.
The talks were aimed at resolving several major trade disputes, including U.S. tariffs affecting Canadian steel, aluminum, automobiles and softwood lumber, while Washington had also pushed Canada over restrictions affecting American products.
No further negotiations are currently scheduled.
As of Saturday morning, President Donald Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs on approximately $28 billion of Canadian goods have gone into effect, impacting products such as hockey sticks, wine, dairy, alcohol, flowers, and animal byproducts.
In Carney’s statement, he pledges to match Trump’s tariffs “dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses.”
He provided more details Saturday, announcing Canada’s retaliatory tariffs will take effect Sept. 8 and target U.S. goods across sectors including steel, dairy, appliances, electronics and agricultural equipment.
The Prime Minister says his government will introduce “additional measures to support Canadian workers and businesses,” building on the $25 billion Canada Strong Fund established earlier this year.
Provincial leaders from across the nation are applauding this move, promising full support for Carney and an united Canada.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford posted to social media, fully backing Carney’s strong response, writing, “Team Canada needs to stand together more united than ever before.
The prime minister has my full support for a strong response—tariff for tariff, dollar for dollar. As we fight to protect Canadian sovereignty and economic security, everything needs to be on the table. Ontario is ready to do its part.”
British Columbia Premier David Eby echoed Ford’s statement, writing, “We didn’t ask for this, but we’ll keep fighting for as long as it takes.”
Former Alberta Premier and cabinet minister Jason Kenny, who now works as a senior advisor for law firm Bennett Jones, says he’s proud of Carney for being the only country aside from China to retaliate against the U.S. tariffs.
“Responding to the new US tariffs with counter tariffs is exactly the right thing to do at this time,” Kenny wrote. “People in the Trump Administration keep expressing outrage that Canada is the only country in the world apart from China to retaliate against US tariffs.”
