RED DEER – Prime Minister Mark Carney suggests Canada’s reputation as a reliable supplier could take a hit if the country started leveraging energy exports in trade talks with the United States.
Carney was making an announcement alongside Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Red Deer today when he was asked about the prospect of restricting energy exports to the United States as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford suggested last week that Canada could “dismantle” the United States if Ottawa and the provinces agreed to turn its critical energy exports into leverage against Washington’s latest threatened round of tariffs.
Carney said today that of all the commodities Canada has in abundance, trust is may be the most important.
He says when you’re a supplier of a key commodity, you ought to think hard about cutting off the flow to customers.
Canada’s chief trade negotiator Janice Charette and Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc are in Washington today, a few weeks before the Trump administration’s new round of 50 per cent tariffs on a range of Canadian goods come into effect on Aug. 19.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2026.
— with files from Craig Lord in Ottawa
