Political news, analysis, and opinions for Canadians

Month: August 2026 (Page 1 of 12)

Mark Carney’s defiance: Canada shows the world how to respond to Donald Trump’s threats

Eric Van Rythoven: As Nobel-prize winning economist Paul Krugman explains, the U.S. imports economically vital goods from Canada like oil, lumber, electricity and aluminum, for which there is no cheap and accessible domestic substitute. Tariffs on these goods means higher costs for American consumers and businesses in an already inflationary environment.

Foreign governments are acutely aware of these economic problems, and the role they will play in the upcoming U.S. midterm elections. As American foreign policy scholar Paul Musgrave argues, this creates incentives for countries to use time as a weapon against the U.S.

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Mark Carney’s speeches have become political earthquakes

The quiet-spoken Canadian prime minister has spoken unutterable truths, writes Ted Widmer of The Guardian.

The speech signalled an earthquake. The news, as widely reported, was that Carney was calling off the trade talks that many expected to resolve or reduce the trade frictions that have been in place ever since Trump slapped his first round of tariffs on Canada, shortly after assuming office.

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Canada’s ‘targeted’ and ‘strategic’ retaliation against US tariffs

Alexandre Lepoutre at Le Monde: Starting September 8, Canada will impose surcharges of 15% to 50% on these goods, totalling approximately $27.6 billion (about €17 billion), mirroring the value of Canadian exports hit by U.S. tariffs. “We did not choose this trade conflict. But we must stand up and defend our interests,” Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said on Tuesday. “We will never accept having another country dictate our course of action. Our future belongs to us.”

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Canada’s retaliation tests the limits of it’s pugnacious neighbour

While obvious differences exist between a shooting war in Iran and a trade dispute with Canada, the lessons are not dissimilar, writes Anthony Zurcher at BBC News. In both, the US faces a counterpart that, despite having far less overall power, retains the means to retaliate.

Canada, for its part, is beginning to test its own ability to inflict economic pain. Tuesday’s targeted tariffs mark a first step. Future measures could include restricting US access to Canadian energy and critical minerals, alongside consumer boycotts of American goods.

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Premier Smith urged to cancel Alberta separation vote

Alberta’s Opposition leader says now is not the time to hold a referendum on quitting Canada as the country wages a consequential trade war with its southern neighbour.

NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi says Premier Danielle Smith needs to cancel it or, at the very least, postpone it, reports The Canadian Press.

“The premier’s pandering to separatists just shows weakness; it shows that Canada is not united,” Nenshi told reporters Tuesday in Calgary.

Albertans are to vote Oct. 19 in a provincial referendum that asks whether the government should start the legal process to hold a future binding vote on separating from Canada.

‘The fundamentals in Canada are pretty good’: Canada’s big banks are shrugging off Trump’s trade war

Top executives at the Bank of Montreal and Scotiabank separately referred to the Canada-U.S. trade situation as “manageable”, reports Jeff Lagerquist at CBC News.

Canada’s largest lenders started reporting third-quarter financial results this week. Bank of Montreal and Scotiabank were first to report on Tuesday. National Bank issues its results on Wednesday, followed by the Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank and CIBC on Thursday.

Speaking on a post-earnings conference call with stock market analysts, Scotiabank chief executive Scott Thomson called the recent trade volatility “manageable,” as he spelled out bright spots in Canada’s economy.

“The fundamentals in Canada are pretty good,” Thomson said. “If you look at the job growth numbers, if you look at the fiscal capacity on the back of oil prices and if you look at some of the activity that’s starting because of the prime minister’s agenda, you actually have a backdrop that’s pretty good.”

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