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Canada's prime minister says President Trump has agreed to ramp up trade negotiations, but he's not afraid to play hardball. Mark Carney said Tuesday he and Trump agreed to "intensify" talks after Trump unveiled plans for tariffs of up to 50% on roughly $20 billion in Canadian imports, targeting everything from cars and dairy to beer, wine, furniture, and hockey sticks. Carney warned, however, that he would weigh "all options" if the duties proceed. He said the country was united against the tariffs, which are due to take effect next month. Carney tied any easing of provincial bans on US alcohol to a broader deal. Most provinces have blocked or sharply limited sales of American booze in response to earlier US measures.
"The decision to change that, first and foremost, will be taken by the provinces themselves, each individually, and should only be taken, in my view, as part of an overall agreement. And that's what we'll work to accomplish," Carney said. Provincial premiers meeting in Prince Edward Island, meanwhile, had strong words about the new tariffs, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford renewing his call for Canada to cut off energy exports to the US, the CBC reports. He said the federal government should hit Trump back "as hard as we can."
・"I'm tired of the bully trying to take our lunch money all the time," Ford said. "We always seem to be on our back heels. We need to be on the offense, not constantly on the defense with President Trump."
・Ford urged a "dollar for dollar" response, while British Columbia's David Eby said there was "not a chance in hell that US alcohol is going back on the shelves in British Columbia." Eby added: "I feel sorry for Americans. If you can't be friends with Canada, then you almost certainly do not have friends anywhere in the world, and that is a very lonely place to be."
・The opposition Conservative Party called for Carney's Liberal government to respond firmly. "President Trump's latest tariffs are another unacceptable and unjustified attack on Canadian workers and our businesses," the party said in a statement. "Canadians are not a punching bag."
In the US, Democratic Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont labeled Trump's move an "extreme escalation" of a "reckless and irresponsible trade war" that has harmed his state. Trump defended the tariffs, saying other presidents had failed to be tough enough on Canada, the Guardian reports. "Canada has been very, very tough on us over the years, for many years, and no other president's done anything about it," he told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. "In all fairness to them, they need us to survive. Without us, there's no way they can survive."
・Pollsters say Carney will have broad support if he stands firm in trade talks, the New York Times reports. According to data released by Canadian polling company Abacus on Tuesday, around 60% of Canadians believe reaching a deal is urgent, but only 20% think Canada should be "willing to make compromises to reach an agreement sooner." Carney "has a lot of room to maneuver in negotiations with the Trump administration," says Abacus CEO David Coletto. "Over the past year, Canadians have gone from being overly anxious about how tariffs might impact their lives and wanting a speedy resolution, to now feeling that a bad deal that rewards troubling behavior is a non-starter."
(This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)
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