It looks like the Canadian side was caught flat-footed with U.S. President Donald Trump’s blow-ups last week – terminating the trade talks and then suddenly adding new 10-per-cent duties.
Then on Monday Mr. Trump said he did not even want to see Prime Minister Mark Carney. “I’m not going to be meeting with him for a long time,” Mr. Trump said.
So, where should the Carney team go from here?
Start blaming Mike Harris!
The United States and President Donald Trump are clearly frustrated with Canada’s handling of trade negotiations involving softwood lumber, automotive parts, oil, aluminum and steel.
Whether Ontario’s anti-tariff advertising campaign — funded by the Doug Ford government — is the direct reason Washington raised tariffs from 35% to 45% on non-Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement imports is beside the point. What matters is the escalation reflects a deteriorating diplomatic climate that will have very real consequences for Canadian agri-food exporters.
Doug Ford has no regrets about ‘viral’ Reagan ad that angered Donald Trump
An unrepentant Premier Doug Ford says he has no regrets about Ontario’s anti-tariff advertising blitz that derailed Canada’s trade talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.
While Ontario has paused the $75 million campaign, featuring former president Ronald Reagan, after Ford spoke with Prime Minister Mark Carney, the premier insisted Monday it was effective.
KUALA LUMPUR — U.S. President Donald Trump has ruled out a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney this week while the pair are both in Asia.
Trump spoke to reporters on Air Force 1 today en route to Japan, saying he won’t be meeting with Carney “for a long time.”
He also says he doesn’t know when the new tariffs on Canada will come into effect.
While MANY Countries are celebrating their massive deals with the United States, Canada, due to actions of their own, will be ignored.
President Trump stating again that he doesn’t even meet with Mark CARNEY for a while pic.twitter.com/kWEHmzQ8W1
— Melissa (@MelissaLMRogers) October 27, 2025
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned Sunday that trade flows are likely to shift away from the United States “for a period of time” following President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a new 10 percent tariff on Canadian goods, saying the hike will make it “more expensive to trade with the United States.”
Carney’s comments were his first public reaction since Trump announced the tariff increase on Saturday, escalating tensions between two of the world’s largest trading partners.
The announcement means the general tariff on Canada is now up to 45 percent, but it is not yet certain when the increase will go into effect.
Um, the trademark Carney word salad regurgitation. To be clear. https://t.co/84yCgkXyyA
— RMC86 (@RMC19861987) October 26, 2025
Warren Shepell had an unsettling experience this month when boarding his flight from Cleveland heading home to Toronto.
Just before getting on the plane, he says two uniformed officers approached him on the boarding ramp (Jetway), and one took his photo.
“I was aghast. I felt ambushed,” said Shepell, a noted Canadian psychologist.
Canada’s strategy for dealing with President Trump was on full display this weekend, reinforcing the country’s approach amid a turbulent trade relationship: Remove all irritants.
The latest tussle involved an advertisement, paid for by the Ontario government, that used audio from an address by former President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs.
Mr. Trump, who called the advertisement “fraudulent,” suspended trade talks with Canada and said he would slap another 10 percent tariff on its goods as punishment.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that he wants to take auto manufacturing out of Canada and bring it back to the United States. Now, the head of the Business Council of Canada says the country may need to consider letting him do it.
“What we’ve built here is working, but we have to hear what is being said,” Goldy Hyder said. “We want to shoot the messenger, but we are in the world we’re in and I can tell you this much – from a business perspective, in the world that we’re in – no agreement is not an alternative.”
“I respect the fact that our auto companies are making the case that in fact, this is good – that the model works, what we’ve built here is working – but we have to hear what is being said,” he added.
Basically – Focus on what we can reasonably save i.e. parts manufacture.
What we witnessed this week from Doug Ford and Wab Kinew wasn’t leadership. It was political theatre that cost Canadians jobs, credibility, and common sense.
Ontario’s premier decided it was a good idea to spend over $75 million of taxpayer money on a television commercial featuring a manipulated video of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. The goal, apparently, was to take a stand against American tariffs and score political points with Canadian voters by pretending to channel Reagan’s words.
(Incognito)
A new rule may be emerging in Canada-U.S. relations — it’s a risky business, mixing politics and baseball.
Prime Minister Mark Carney admitted this week that he had no luck so far tempting Donald Trump into placing a wager on the World Series. Grinning ear to ear as he stopped by the Blue Jays practice on Thursday, Carney said: “I think he’s afraid to make a bet. He doesn’t like to lose. He hasn’t returned my call yet on the bet.”
Over? But its worked so well so far!
Prime Minister Mark Carney said he stands ready to resume trade negotiations with the U.S. and tried to reassure Canadians that he is taking steps to shore up the country’s economy after U.S.
President Donald Trump threatened to hike tariffs by another 10 per cent.
Mr. Trump said this weekend he’s hiking tariffs on Canadian imports after an Ontario government TV ad critical of his protectionist levies ran during the first game of the World Series.
Let us win the tug of war for auto jobs. pic.twitter.com/EjJccajmiT
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) October 25, 2025
History shows that “Favourable Trade Deals” are by design consistently selective of those they favour.
While U.S. President Donald Trump has singled out the Ontario government’s TV commercial as a reason to cancel trade talks with Canada, a senior White House official says it’s because there’s been growing frustration with Ottawa.
U.S. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett spoke to reporters on Oct. 24 following Trump’s decision to terminate trade talks with Canada the previous day, saying that Canadians have been “very difficult to negotiate with.”
Don’t forget to thank Trudeau and Freeland too for the state of Trump trade talks. They really got under negotiators’ skin
Q “Quickly, what has been so challenging about dealing with Canada in trade negotiations?”
“I guess the lack of flexibility. And, you know, also I would… https://t.co/nvCpRPmLtW pic.twitter.com/e1JCNAGiBt
— cbcwatcher (@cbcwatcher) October 24, 2025
In the face of economic uncertainty, Canada and Canadian premiers need to focus on what they control. Since U.S. Donald Trump’s 51st State tweets back in February, Prime Minister Carney and the premiers have done their best to chest thump and keep their “elbows up” to show Canadians that we got this. Well, we don’t got this and we have so far done nothing. At best, things are no better, and they might be getting worse.
Donald Trump says the U.S. will levy an additional 10 per cent tariff on Canadian imports in retaliation for an anti-tariff TV ad by the Ontario government featuring the words and voice of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan.
The U.S. president made the announcement in a post on Truth Social. The tariff will be “over and above what they are paying now,” Trump stated Saturday.
Jeep manufacturer Stellantis announced on October 14 that it is moving production to Illinois from its Brampton, Ontario, plant, leaving 3,000 workers wondering where dinner is coming from. Blond bombshell Federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly has threatened to sue the company, which no doubt has company execs driving off the road and hiding in the bush. Not to be outdone, GM is moving its Ingersoll plant to the U.S., leaving 1,200 workers unemployed. As Spencer Gatten reports, altogether something in the vicinity of 6,000 jobs have been lost in the last week, not counting the indirect and ancillary jobs that will also disappear.
h/t PA Cat
