Political news, analysis, and opinions for Canadians
Prime Minister Mark Carney holds a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa after Canada and the U.S. failed to reach a trade agreement before a late Friday deadline and Canada said it was suspending negotiations. The prime minister has indicated that his government intends to retaliate dollar-for-dollar against new U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods.
The costs to the U.S. of poisoning its relationship with Canada are measurable. We see them in high U.S. inflation, the billions lost to U.S. tourism, disrupted trade with border states dependent on the Canadian market, a major hit to the bottom line of Detroitâs automakers, and the collapse of exports for the American booze industry.
Increasingly, Americans with the most to lose from a continental rift are pushing back, reports Tim Shufelt of the Globe and Mail.
Bob Rae: “As the members of the Canadian delegation comes home this morning, they can hold their heads high. Canada couldnât sign a deal the Americans tried to change at the last minute. Ask anyone who has done business with Donald Trump. Thatâs how he does it. It canât work.
There will be lots of time to second guess what happened. But we need to come together as we have never done before.
We cannot succumb to tyranny, to the use of aged statutes that have not been used for a century. Trump is now our George III. Our American friends have to understand this. We are not Belarus. We are a real country that was ready to do a deal – and still is – for both parties but not prepared to put up with these âknavish tricksâ.”
The threat Trump poses to Canada means the best way to preserve Quebec’s unique French culture âis to stay within Canada — at least for now, writes Maria Cheng at Reuters.
Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st state and the whiplash from his tariff policy have spurred an outpouring of Canadian patriotism in Quebec, a province that regularly threatens to âbreak away and has had two previous referendums on the issue.
From the written statement of Prime Minister Mark Carney, Friday August 21, 2026, 23:48 Hrs:
“To strike a fair deal that would provide the best access to the U.S. market and greater certainty to Canadian businesses and workers. Throughout, our goal has been to secure the best deal for Canadians, never a deal at any price or on any deadline.
In recent weeks, we made important progress toward improving Canadaâs position as having the best deal in the world with the U.S.
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