“Canada – USA Tariff Wars”

Keeping U.S. booze off of LCBO shelves has done “nothing to move the needle” on tariffs, a University of Toronto professor says, arguing that the province should drop the moratorium on American alcohol.

“The alcohol embargo has been in place at this point for almost a year-and-a-half. It has not moved the needle in any observable way,” Joseph Steinberg, a professor of economics at the University of Toronto, told Newstalk 1010 on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty-five states sued the Trump administration Monday over its latest tariffs, calling them a pretext for replacing import taxes the Supreme Court struck down in February.

The United States last month imposed double-digit tariffs on 59 countries and the European Union, charging that they had not done enough to crack down on imports produced by forced labor. The new tariffs took effect just as the clock ran out on temporary tariffs President Donald Trump had turned to after the Supreme Court defeat.

In March 2025, Premier Doug Ford ordered the LCBO to strip American alcohol from its shelves and wholesale catalogue in a bid to pressure Washington to drop its tariffs on Canadian exports. Last week, Washington answered. President Donald Trump announced 50 per cent tariffs on nearly $20 billion of Canadian goods, including our beer, wine and spirits, and cited the provincial alcohol embargoes as one reason. The policy was sold as leverage. It has become a liability. Ford should end it.

There may be no more hazardous exercise for a Canadian newspaper columnist these days than attempting to interpret Donald Trump’s trade policies. To suggest that there might be some logic behind his moves to undo the rules of the global trading system that he insists have been skewed against the United States is to invite accusations of gaslighting on behalf of the most mendacious, immoral and incompetent U.S. President of the past 250 years.

Here it goes anyway.

“The only winning move is not to play.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney must be a fan of sci-fi movies, as this memorable line from the 1983 Oscar-nominated movie “WarGames” neatly sums up Canada’s current CUSMA negotiating stance.

It’s becoming clear that the Liberals have determined that there’s no good deal to be had with U.S. President Donald Trump. Rather than go through the motions, Carney seems to have pivoted to a completely new tactic: not playing the game. The current dynamic is surely far more appealing than the alternative: signing a revised U.S. trade agreement that’s substantially less palatable than what was achieved by either Brian Mulroney or Justin Trudeau in years gone by.

Awareness of the latest U.S. tariff threat is high among Canadians, according to a new Leger poll, but only 50 per cent support some level of tariff response.

Overall, 68 per cent of poll respondents are following Canada–U.S. trade developments closely, the new data suggest. More men (77 per cent) are doing so than women (59 per cent). Meanwhile, Canadians 55 and over are more engaged in the tariff news (79 per cent) than younger Canadians, 18-34 (59 per cent).

Though many hate to admit it, Canadians have long wished for more attention from the US. Well, we’re getting it now. And it turns out that President Trump and some of his top supporters in the Maga movement don’t much like us.

The first big hint was when he started talking about annexing us, saying we couldn’t survive without American support. But the most recent example of Trump’s dislike for Canada can be seen in his latest tariff policies. Canada was largely spared the impact of his “Liberation Day” tariffs in April 2025 by its pre-existing free trade deal with the US (and Mexico), but earlier this month, as expected, the US declined to extend that deal for another 16-year term. It’s now subject to annual renegotiations. Then, last week, the White House announced tariffs as high as 50% on a selection of Canadian products including, for the first time, items previously protected by the trade agreement. The US called it retaliation for Canadian trade practices.

“The White House fails to understand that Mark Carney and Canada’s regional leaders can’t cave in to the US president: it’s too toxic to voters.”

If you told me Carney was in cahoots with Trump I’d hear you out.

Freeland is a big help as usual.

🚨 FREELAND: "US IS A BIGGER THREAT THAN CHINA" 🚨😡

Chrystia Freeland just told Wall Street Week that many Canadians now trust Beijing MORE than Washington.

Let that sink in.

This is the same Freeland who:
– Froze bank accounts during the Freedom Convoy
– Used the Emergencies… pic.twitter.com/NENIu7W0Ft

— SaskRiderGal🇨🇦 (@saskridergal) July 28, 2026

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is back in Washington this week where he’s continuing his search for a breakthrough in trade negotiations with the U.S. administration.

LeBlanc’s office confirmed to CBC News that chief trade negotiator to the U.S. Janice Charette is with the minister as they try to hammer out a deal.

That task continues to look challenging as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to claim he doesn’t care about reviewing the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) or striking a broader deal with his northern and southern neighbours.

Trump on renewing CUSMA: "I don't care, I don't really want to. Here's the thing, Mexico and Canada need us. We don't need them. The deal is important for them, it's not important for us." pic.twitter.com/z5ZdPCXfRe

— Scott Robertson (@sarobertson_) July 28, 2026

The Liberals are preparing to eliminate base funding requirements for U.S. companies under the Online Streaming Act.

The news comes as the policy, which requires companies like Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., and Netflix Inc. to allocate a portion of Canadian revenues to fund domestic news and entertainment programming, faces strong pushback from American industry and political players.

h.t Mauser and WC

WASHINGTON — No one is shocked these days when U.S. President Donald Trump calls Canada the “51st state” or refers to Prime Minister Mark Carney as a “governor.”

But Trump’s habit of occasionally targeting Canada with crude insults has become much more common among rank-and-file Republicans in recent weeks.

As Trump watches his poll numbers sink under the weight of controversial policies and an unpopular war with Iran, he is casting about for scapegoats, said Robert C. Rowland, professor of rhetoric at the University of Kansas.

This is not good news, though such pronouncements are often mere negotiating tactics.

🚨 JUST IN: President Trump says Canada and Mexico NEED AMERICA to survive, so he "doesn't care" about updating the USMCA trade agreement

TARIFFS WORK 🇺🇸

"I don't care. I mean, I don't really want to. I'd rather be independent. Here's the thing, Mexico and Canada need us. We… pic.twitter.com/ekbmBnI6FS

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 28, 2026