LILLEY: Carney's trade deal — all spin and few details
· Toronto Sun
See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source
Prime Minister Mark Carney asked provincial premiers to put American booze back on their shelves during a call about a trade deal on Wednesday. It was all part of a deal to try to avoid a new round of 50% tariffs on $28 billion worth of Canadian exports to the United States.
Visit newsbetting.cv for more information.
Few details, big ask
Details of the deal weren’t made public. In fact, according to sources from multiple provinces, Carney provided few details to premiers. While Carney asked premiers on the call to put American booze back on the shelves, he didn’t ask them for an answer immediately.
A rep from one province described the call as “high level” and said that Carney’s team is “still finalizing some landing spots” when it comes to where various tariffs will land. Another provincial rep said the feds were doing their best and that the results were better than expected, even if not as good as before Trump imposed tariffs.
Carney takes a bow
Carney took to social media to praise his minister on the file, Dominic LeBlanc, for getting a deal.
“Canada entered these discussions with the best overall trade terms. We are now moving towards an agreement that reinforces that Canadian advantage, including by securing the best terms in each of Canada’s most important strategic sectors and providing greater certainty about our future trading relationship,” Carney said.
Over the past 18 months, Carney has alternated between describing the trade threat from Donald Trump as an existential threat to Canada and claiming we have the best trade deal in the world. Given the protection of CUSMA for most Canadian exports, and given that the United States has slapped tariffs on every country around the world, most experts say Canada in fact has the second-best deal, after Mexico.
That hasn’t stopped Carney and his Liberal Party from whipping up anti-American sentiment over Trump and his tariffs. The ploy has been very successful for Carney politically, even as his refusal to come to an agreement has cost Canada economically.
A month ago, Trump threatened to impose the high tariffs on Canadian goods, claiming unfair Canadian practices on dairy, autos and booze.
On the dairy front, the Americans have long had issues with some parts of our supply management system but have made it clear they do not seek to dismantle it. Instead, they have taken issue with how American import quotas have been dealt with, and pointed to more favourable treatment for European dairy compared to their own.
On autos, the Americans claimed that Canada’s counter-tariffs on American autos — a reply to their tariffs on our auto exports — were unfair and not allowable. The Americans claimed they tariffed autos from all countries, including Canada, while we just tariffed their vehicles.
And finally on alcohol, eight of 10 provinces have kept up a ban on American booze that started in the spring of 2025. While Alberta and Saskatchewan initially took part, they ended their bans on American booze more than a year ago.
The Americans pointed out that while they had tariffed Canadian products, they had not banned any, and this amounted to an unfair trade practice.
Tough sell for premiers
For Ontario Premier Doug Ford in particular, putting American booze back on the shelves when American tariffs remain on autos and auto parts made in Canada will be a tough sell. The same goes for B.C. Premier David Eby, while tariffs as high as 47% remain on B.C. softwood lumber, and for Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette, who is concerned about the dairy issue.
Carney is asking Canada’s premiers for a lot in order to land this deal with Trump. What Carney is getting for Canada in return is unclear.