Trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa erupted into open confrontation this weekend, with the Trump administration bluntly warning Canada it would be “foolish” to believe it could prevail in a trade war — and forecasting a “devastating” blow to the US’s northern neighbour.
Negotiations collapsed late Friday, and the United States responded by immediately slapping 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. The measures cover roughly 5.5% of Canadian exports to the United States, Canada’s largest trading partner by a wide margin.
Canada fired back with matching tariffs — including on steel and dairy products — set to take effect on 8 September.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Canada would come out worse in the standoff.
The United States currently buys roughly 70% of Canadian exports.
“We’re great trading partners, right? But Canada gets the benefit of trading with the US way more than the US gets the benefit of trading with Canada,” he claimed on Fox News.
“To think that they’re going to go to war with Donald Trump and actually win that war with the US, I think it’s foolish on their part.”
Duffy said he expected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to return to the table “very very quickly,” arguing the dispute “is going to be devastating for his country.”
Carney, however, struck a defiant tone yesterday as he announced retaliatory tariffs after walking away from what he described as a “bad deal,” deepening a rift between longtime allies.
“You’re at war when you get attacked. We got attacked,” he said, pointing to last-minute US demands that he said would have limited Canada’s ability to strike trade deals with other countries, along with unacceptable “threats” to the French language and Quebec culture.
Mr Trump hit back today claiming on social media that “Canada wants the benefits of being a State, without being one!!!”
“They have also charged our great farmers, for many years, massive amounts of Tariffs. No more!!!” he added.
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‘Bully in Washington’, a Canadian citizen warns
The sharp exchange highlighted how far relations have deteriorated since Trump began his second term in January 2025, a period that has also featured his repeated and outlandish threats to turn Canada into the 51st US state.
Carney has said the bilateral relationship has been permanently altered and that Canada must dial back its dependence on the United States. Even with the economic fallout, he has gained political support at home for confronting Washington since he took office two months after Trump returned to the presidency.
“We have a bully in Washington,” Canadian retired teacher Stuart Edwards told AFP Saturday in Fort Erie, Ontario in the shadow of the Peace Bridge, a conduit for billions of dollars in annual trade with the United States.
“We’re not going to put up with it, Canada isn’t. We’ll fight back,” he said.
During the latest round of talks in Washington, Canada had sought relief from Trump’s tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum — measures that have hit the economy, triggered job losses and strained what was once an iron-clad trade relationship.
The White House alleged Canada had engaged in “discriminatory treatment” of US alcohol, automobile and dairy products in introducing the new duties.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told the New York Times on Saturday that the United States had offered to reduce its tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos, and to eliminate a recently imposed tariff on Canadian lumber.
Greer said those steps would have given Canada “the most preferential treatment of any trading partner,” according to the Times.
He also said no new talks were planned with Canadian negotiators.
Carney has since spoken with provincial leaders to map out next steps.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, one of those leaders, said Canadians need to stay unified.
Mr Trump “can’t be trusted, simple as that,” Mr Ford told reporters. “President Trump is the type of person who would steal your lunch money.”
The Business Roundtable, which represents 200 chief executives of major US corporations, cautioned that the new tariffs “risk raising costs for American businesses and families,” and urged both governments to return to negotiations.
