Below are Prime Minister Mark Carney's remarks after Canada suspended trade talks with the U.S. and the Trump administration imposed new 50 per cent tariffs:
Good morning everyone. I would like to take this opportunity to update Canadians on developments in our trade negotiations with the United States. I'm going to go through why we're walking away from a bad deal, and what comes next.
(In French): For much of our history, Canadians were able to count on trade tailwinds: a stable relationship with the United States, increasingly open access to the American market, and rules that both countries understood and respected. These winds haven't simply shifted direction—the climate itself has changed.
We can't control the storm that blows in from Washington. We can, however, chart a new course by building Canada strong at home and diversifying our trading relationships abroad.
We are masters of our own house and the ideal partner abroad.
For over a year, Canada has worked intensively and in good faith with the United States to negotiate a new comprehensive trade deal. We've been pragmatic, patient and persistent. We pursued every opportunity to reach an agreement that protects Canadian workers and their families, that strengthens our economy, and that respects Canadian sovereignty.
We have been under no illusions. We recognized from the start that America has changed. Early last year, in this room, I observed that the decades-long process of steadily increasing integration between our economies was over. Our government understood, before many, that America would transform all of its commercial relationships, that it would put a series of tariffs on its closest allies and use economic integration as a weapon. We recognized that sometimes its signature was written in pencil.
FULL SPEECH | Carney explains why Canada suspended trade talks with U.S.
We worked in that context to try to strike a fair deal on which Canadian businesses and workers could rely. Our goal has always been to get the best deal for Canadians, never a deal at any price or on any time frame.
Last month, when the US announced another round of unjustified tariffs, I gave our negotiating team a new mandate to seek a fair deal negotiated in good faith. Because I believe that people on the ground on both sides of the border want this relationship to work. The bonds between Canadians and Americans are long and they remain strong. A mutually beneficial trade agreement is possible. One that respects our sovereignty. One that builds on our complementary strengths. One that lowers costs for families on both sides of the border. One that creates jobs for our workers.
Canada has always worked towards these goals, even while America’s attention and dedication to them have wavered. We've consistently proposed long-term partnerships, while America has often pursued short-term transactions. The gap between partnership and competitor unfortunately has remained too wide in recent days.
So last evening I instructed our negotiators to return to Ottawa. We cannot accept what they've offered, and we will not give what they've asked.
Carney says U.S. 'asked too much and offered too little' after trade talks fall apart
American tariffs on Canadian goods take effect after trade talks fall apart
Over the past year, the U.S. has imposed a series of tariffs that violate its commitments under our agreement with them and Mexico, so-called CUSMA. The United States has continually changed their rationale for these actions, from fentanyl to taxes on U.S. tech giants, to certification of U.S. aircraft, to the sharing of tolls of a bridge that Canada built and paid for, to our dairy policy, to provincial decisions to not sell American alcohol during a trade war, to a television advertisement that quoted Ronald Reagan, to smoke from wildfires while they threatened our communities.
