Mark Carney to unveil tariff response, says Donald Trump's threats shows U.S. wants to 'destroy' Canadian industries

With the stakes escalating after near-deal talks collapsed last week, Premier Doug Ford took full aim at Trump, telling a radio station the U.S. president can “kiss my ass” before lampooning him at a Hamilton press conference as a “dictator” and a “loser.”

Trump, in turn, tarred Ford as Carney’s “flunky” and said the Ontario leader is the “less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother of the late, great, Rob Ford” — the former Toronto mayor. 

Calling on other provinces to support his call to tax electricity sales to the U.S., Ford told reporters that he relishes how Trump will react if Canada decides to take that step, with Carney confirming that all options remain on the table as the country prepares for “challenges on the road ahead.”

“Watch how he does cartwheels and he shouts and screams when we put the surcharge on,” the premier said. “Matter of fact, I can’t wait. I cannot wait. Let’s be clear. I don’t like the guy.”

In Lévis, Que., Carney struck his own combative tone, describing the U.S. under Trump as one of the lone unreliable trading partners in the world — alongside Russia, where authoritarian President Vladimir Putin has faced international condemnation and sanctions for his ongoing war in Ukraine.

The prime minister also shrugged off Trump’s Monday threat to raise tariffs on autos and steel to 50 per cent on Jan. 1. U.S. tariffs on Canadian autos currently sit at 25 per cent, while levies on steel range from 10 per cent to 50 per cent.

Asked about the threat, Carney said in French that the U.S. wants to “destroy the large industries, including the automobile industry, the steel industry, the aluminum, with their terms of negotiation which are not fair.”

In that light, Canada is not willing to return to trade talks with the Trump administration until the Americans show they’re willing to forge a “true partnership” that doesn’t infringe on Canadian sovereignty, Carney said.

Carney had previously said he suspended trade talks on Friday despite being on the cusp of a deal to reduce American tariffs that Canada sees as “unjustified,” after a series of late demands from the U.S. that included limits to the promotion of French-language content online, restrictions on Canada’s ability to strike trade deals with other countries, and the exclusion of trucks like those made at major factories in Oshawa and Oakville from tariff relief. 

“An attitude at the negotiating table that Canada is a subsidiary of the United States, that the Canadian industry is going to be disadvantaged relative to American industry, that we’re going to set up terms that over time the Canadian industry is going to face constant headwinds — that’s not something we’re going to accept,” Carney said.

But Carney stopped short of threatening specific new actions against the Americans, besides the already-planned retaliation to match the latest round of U.S. tariffs on $28 billion of Canadian goods, which the prime minister said is being drawn up now in consultation with provincial premiers. While it will be difficult to match all American tariffs “dollar-for-dollar,” nothing is excluded from a possible Canadian response, Carney said. 

“We will be calm, we will be positive, we will co-operate to build real jobs, real careers, here in Quebec and across Canada,” Carney said in French, announcing his government will spend $11 billion to build six Coast Guard icebreakers, a decision he billed as a significant move to bolster the Canadian economy and sovereignty at an uncertain time. 

The intensifying trade war, however, is likely to drag Canada’s economic prospects, with sectors hard hit already facing possibly steeper tariffs and the fallout of any further escalation, said Dawn Desjardins, chief economist at Deloitte. 

“Likely we’ll see us slowing in the economy as a result of all of this uncertainty,” she said.

The Trump administration has justified steep tariffs on Canadian autos, steel and aluminum by claiming these imports threaten U.S. national security, a position that has previously prompted Carney to conclude publicly that some level of tariffs would likely remain in any deal.

Ford told reporters on Monday that last week, as a deal appeared imminent, the Ontario premier was among those who urged Carney to refrain from accepting it, arguing that what was on offer would ultimately disadvantage Canada.

The opposition Conservatives are now pressing the Carney government to release full details of the scuppered deal, while the Canadians and Americans jockey over whom to blame for the current standoff.

Campaigning for the midterm American elections in Maine, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said the Canadians were the ones who made “unreasonable demands” at the last minute, while the Trump administration is merely pushing for trade fairness in areas like dairy, where Canada’s protectionist supply management system has been a frequent complaint from Washington.

A spokesperson for Dominic LeBlanc, Carney’s cabinet minister closely involved in the negotiations, declined an interview request from the Star on Monday. But LeBlanc told CBC News Monday evening that “there was zero incoherence or lack of unity on the Canadian side of the table” during the final days before the talks fell apart. 

Echoing Trump’s comments on Monday, Vance claimed Canada would “quite literally” get invaded if not for U.S. military protection. He also accused Canada of becoming a “back door” to Chinese goods the Americans want to prevent from entering their country, and called on Carney to “stop taking advantage of America. It’s over. We expect fairness in our trade policy.”

On Parliament Hill, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet called on Carney to bring back counter-tariffs on U.S. goods that Canada removed last year, restore the digital services tax it cancelled last year under U.S. pressure, and suspend the multibillion-dollar purchase of 88 American F-35 fighter jets that the federal government has been reviewing for more than a year. 

Ford made his own demands, urging Ottawa to drop climate policies to help businesses hit by U.S. tariffs, while calling for the federal government and the provinces to band together to make sure “America’s economy feels the pain.”

“You know something?” Ford said, addressing Trump directly. “I’ve dealt with guys like you my whole life, and guess what? You all become losers, because you’re a loser.”