Prime Minister Mark Carney Suspends Trade Talks and Recalls Negotiators to Ottawa

OTTAWA, ON — Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Saturday morning that Canada has formally suspended bilateral trade negotiations with the United States, ordering Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Canada’s negotiating delegation to return to Ottawa immediately.

Negotiation Suspension and Diplomatic Breakdown

The dramatic move follows the midnight expiration of a bilateral deadline that triggered 50 percent punitive U.S. tariffs on roughly $28 billion in Canadian goods. Prime Minister Carney stated that last-minute conditions introduced by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)—including demands to eliminate provincial liquor monopolies and dismantle dairy supply management quotas—rendered a mutually beneficial agreement impossible.

"Canada will not negotiate under duress or accept terms that undermine our national economic sovereignty," Carney stated during an address from the National Press Theatre. "Our negotiating team represented Canada with firmness and integrity, but Washington chose confrontation over cooperation."

Economic Contingency Measures and Support for Exporters

Carney announced that the federal cabinet’s emergency economic committee will meet over the weekend with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, and labor unions to finalize targeted liquidity facilities for affected exporters.

Ottawa will unveil a comprehensive retaliatory tariff schedule early next week matching the U.S. duties dollar-for-dollar across strategic agricultural and manufactured goods from politically sensitive U.S. congressional districts.