“Canada – USA Tariff Wars”

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

Any parent knows how the interrogation goes. You answer the first “why?” and a small voice says “but why?” You give another answer only to prompt another “but why?” By the fourth you’ve run out of reasons and blurted the real one you were hoping to keep to yourself. Rather than being difficult, children are just being thorough.

We should too. We should try it on Donald Trump.

I can’t see what he’d want with Toronto.

Canadians spent $3.3 billion less on travel to the United States in 2025 compared to 2024, according to figures released by Statistics Canada.

The decline resulted in a total spend of $18.1 billion on visits to the U.S. last year, with the decrease driven by lower spending on leisure-related visits, which fell by $2.2 billion to $12.1 billion.

OTTAWA – The Conservative shadow minister for Canada-U.S. relations is calling on Ottawa to provide its negotiation plan with U.S. President Donald Trump at an emergency meeting.

Shuv Majumdar says in a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney that the Conservatives want an emergency meeting of the Standing Committee on International Trade next week, and Ottawa needs to table its written plans at the hearings.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she does not plan to retaliate against U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian goods with an alcohol ban.

She told her provincewide call-in radio show Saturday she is leaving it up to retailers and consumers to decide how to stock their shelves and whether to drink American products with the looming tariffs.

“People should understand that the Americans have not banned a single product from Canada from going into the United States, so it’s a pretty extraordinary measure to put a ban in place,” she said.

Canada is mostly unaffected by a new U.S. tariff ostensibly targeting goods made with slave labour, business leaders, lawyers and economists say.

Late Thursday, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced that dozens of countries, including Canada, are getting hit with a new tariff because they either don’t have any system to bar goods with slave labour, or aren’t applying anti-slave labour rules effectively.

Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom are among the countries getting hit with a 10 per cent tariff, while other nations are seeing a 12.5 per cent levy.

Many Canadians have rightly criticized the Trump administration for its erratic and punitive approach to trade. It is difficult to accept that the American economy — which prospered enormously from global commerce — now treats international trade as a failed experiment.

Here’s the thing about awful, soul-destroying relationships: sometimes, you come out on the other end a stronger, better person.

It’s hard to see the benefits when you’re constantly being lied to, cheated on and disparaged. It’s emotionally exhausting and you know you need to get out, but you signed a lease together and you need his income to make the payments. Plus, you think you love him.

So you ride out his unpredictable mood swings and grit your teeth as you watch him smother his steak in ketchup. You don’t know how you’ll survive – but somehow, you do.