U.S.Canada

TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told the Trump administration Tuesday to “stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough,” as he pushed back against a fresh wave of attacks from Washington.

Carney said U.S.-Canada trade talks could resume if Washington became serious about negotiations, but he also accused the United States of pursuing terms that he said could leave Canadian industries “gradually wound down in Canada and wiped out.”

“When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough, and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions,” Carney said. “It’s not constructive, but that’s their democracy.”

His comments came after a new barrage from Washington since trade talks collapsed Aug. 21, including Trump’s move to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” and social media posts taunting Canada. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said Canada could not go “tit for tat” with a U.S. economy 13 times larger, while U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth mocked female Canadian cadets online.

Hegseth on Monday posted an image from a cadet training center in British Columbia showing two young women in uniform, adding “this is real” alongside a Canadian flag. Carney called the post “beneath their office.”

The Pentagon stood by it Tuesday, with deputy press secretary Jacob Bliss saying, “The X post speaks for itself.”

Carney said the U.S. approach in the talks would have left Canadian industries effectively as subsidiaries of American companies or imposed terms under which they would be “gradually wound down in Canada and wiped out.”

“We’re not going to — of course, we’re not going to accept those terms,” Carney said.

Carney said Washington sought an “uncompetitive” deal for key industries, including autos, while pushing changes affecting French-language and cultural protections. He said any of those issues was enough to block an agreement.

Carney said Washington also sought limits on Canada’s future trade deals. “Canada is a sovereign state. We will strike free trade deals with the countries we wish to strike free trade deals,” he said.

Carney was also buoyed by Monday’s Liberal sweep of three special elections, including a decisive win in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord, Quebec, where the Conservatives fell to third place.

The victories brought the Liberals to 173 seats in the 343-seat House of Commons and reinforced Carney’s position as he confronts Trump over trade and Canadian sovereignty.

Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, said Trump’s annexation threats carry particular weight in Quebec. “Quebecers have the most to lose in an apocalyptic scenario where the U.S. absorbs Canada, and the status of the French language disappears,” he said.

U.S.-Canada trade talks collapsed after the two sides failed to reach a deal, and Trump imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion in Canadian goods. Canada responded with plans for tariffs on U.S. products.

Trump has repeatedly talked about making Canada the 51st state.

Gillies writes for the Associated Press.

Aug. 22 (UPI) — A 50% tariff on Canadian goods went into effect early Saturday after talks between the two countries collapsed.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney walked away from the negotiations and said Canada would retaliate against the tariffs.

Negotiators had been in Washington, D.C., working with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to try to come to an agreement. But just before the midnight deadline Friday, Carney released a statement on X announcing that there would be no deal.

“In recent weeks, we made important progress toward improving Canada’s position as having the best deal in the world with the U.S. However, that progress has not been enough to meet our objectives for Canadians. As a result this evening I have decided to suspend trade negotiations with the U.S. and have directed Canada’s negotiators to return to Ottawa,” Carney said in the statement.

“At midnight tonight, the U.S. intends to impose a 50% tariff on roughly $28 billion of Canadian goods. Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses,” Carney added.

Greer posted a statement on X saying, “Despite the U.S. offer to Canada to receive the best treatment of any major exporter to our market, new demands and walk-backs of other commitments by Canada have upended the careful balance reached in the past days.”

“This is a missed opportunity for Canada to partner with the United States, which is the fastest growing economy in the G7,” Greer said.

President Donald Trump signed orders in July to add the new tariffs on goods, including cement, hockey sticks, beer, cheese and other items that would make up about 2% of the entire trade between the two countries.

They were set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, but Trump extended the deadline to Friday night. He announced on Truth Social about 90 minutes before the deadline, saying the two countries “have a DEAL!”

Carney responded on X: “Substantial progress has been made, although there is important work still to be done.”

Analysts have said this is bad news for the United States and Canada.

“Economically, [the new tariffs are] not that important – except that the relationship itself is extremely important,” said Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a nonpartisan research organization, The Washington Post reported.

Candace Laing, CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said it will hurt both countries economically.

“This will be a body blow to North American competitiveness in this self-defeating trade saga,” Laing said in a statement. “Americans will see their costs go up, and Canadians will see customers, investment and small businesses disappear.”