Prime Minister Carney to meet with cabinet, premiers in wake of Trump’s latest tariff threats

Prime Minister Mark Carney will be meeting with his cabinet and Canada’s premiers to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s new threat to slap 35 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods next month.

The Prime Minister’s Office announced there will be a cabinet meeting on Jul. 15 to discuss ongoing Canada-U.S. trade negotiations. Carney’s office said he also will meet with the premiers on July 22 as they gather for the annual Council of the Federation conference in Huntsville, Ont.

Carney said on Jul. 10 that his government will “steadfastly” defend workers and businesses. In a late night post on social media, Carney said Canada will continue to work to secure a trade deal with the U.S. by a revised deadline of Aug. 1.

In a letter to Carney on Jul. 10, Trump threatened to impose 35 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods by that date — evidently setting a new deadline for the trade talks that were supposed to wrap up by July 21.

Asked about the tariff threat while leaving the White House on Jul. 11, Trump told reporters that “it was sent yesterday. They called. I think it was fairly well received.”

A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister’s Office said Carney and Trump did not speak on Jul. 10. She said that while officials from both countries meet daily as trade talks continue, Jul. 10’s meeting took place before Trump sent his tariff letter.

Trump’s letter said if Canada works to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States, he may consider a tariff adjustment.

Fentanyl seizures are up slightly this year at the shared border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized about 26 kilograms of the drug at the Canada-U.S. border to date this fiscal year, up from 19.5 kilograms last fiscal year.

That still pales in comparison to fentanyl seizures at the United States’ southern border, where U.S. border agents have seized nearly 3,700 kilograms so far this fiscal year.

A White House official said the 35 per cent tariff rate is only expected to be applied to goods already hit with a 25 per cent import tax. This would exempt goods compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, plus energy and potash imports that face a 10 per cent tariff rate.

The official said no final policy paper has been drafted and Trump has not yet made a final decision.

Canada also faces additional U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles, as well as a U.S. plan to introduce tariffs on copper on Aug. 1.

In a post on social media, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that in the face of Trump’s latest tariff threat, “we need to come together” and develop a plan to protect Canadian workers, business and communities.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith discouraged Ottawa from imposing retaliatory tariffs, saying it would “constitute a tax on Canadian consumers and businesses and only weaken Canada’s economy further.”

In a post on social media, Smith said the federal government should also drop “Trudeau-era anti-resource development laws.”

The tariffs would mean higher prices for Americans and continued damage to the “most productive trade relationship two countries have ever had,” said Candace Laing, CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

“Rather than public threats and ultimatums, the Canadian Chamber hopes to see both governments continue their ongoing talks in good faith and behind closed doors, with the aim of reaching a real and reliable economic and security relationship in the near term,” Laing said in a media statement.

The “consistent attacks” on Canada have damaged a “vital relationship,” said United States Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, adding “this action even undermined his own Administration’s negotiations to reach a trade deal.”