As U.S. President Donald Trump threatens an increase in tariffs on Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney says the federal government has “sole responsibility” for the country’s ongoing trade talks with its southern neighbour.
“It is the sole responsibility of the government of Canada to have those discussions with the United States, and it’s the best way forward,” he told reporters Sunday.
Carney was in Malaysia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders summit.
His comments came hours after Trump threatened a 10 per cent tariff on top of what was already in place on Canada in response to an ad campaign launched by Ontario, which aired on American television.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday evening, Eastern time, Trump once again criticized Canada for the airing of an ad that features clips of former president Ronald Reagan.
“Their Advertisement was to be taken down, IMMEDIATELY, but they let it run last night during the World Series, knowing that it was a FRAUD,” Trump said.
It’s not immediately clear yet how or when the new tariff would be implemented or to what products.
The ad was run by the Ontario government on American television networks in the past week and features images of Americans from all walks of life going about their days over swelling music, with clips from Reagan’s 1987 radio address playing.
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That speech saw Reagan speak about “Free and fair trade,” and about how he views the risks of tariffs and protectionism against tariffs the U.S. was imposing at the time on Japanese goods.
The speech itself was five minutes long, while the Ontario ad featuring Reagan’s remarks lasted about one minute.
On Thursday night, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute posted on X that the ad “misrepresents the ‘Presidential Radio Address to the Nation on Free and Fair Trade’ dated April 25, 1987.” It added Ontario did not receive foundation permission to “use and edit the remarks.”
Ontario’s ad led to Trump announcing he was cutting off all trade talks with Canada.
The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed on Friday that Carney and Trump have not spoken since the president cut off talks.
While he did not specifically touch on the tariffs on Sunday in Malaysia, the prime minister did touch on his own country’s work on trade with other nations.
“We respect trade agreements and the rule of law,” Carney told the leaders’ summit. “We value the exchange of goods, capital and ideas.”
Despite this, Carney told reporters later on Sunday that the federal government remained committed to finding a trade deal with the U.S..
“The government of Canada stands ready to build on the progress that we had been making in our negotiations, our discussions with our American counterparts,” Carney said.
Both Carney and Trump will be in close proximity this week, with the leaders set to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in South Korea.
During his speech to leaders on Sunday, Carney also reiterated his previous comments about needing reliable partners, noting “transactional bilateral trade,” and what he considered a new era of great power rivalry that is challenging global institutions countries like Canada and Southeast Asian countries have relied on.
He also highlighted his government’s plan to double non-U.S. exports in the next decade and quadruple defence spending in the next four years.
Carney also noted the recent trade agreement with Indonesia, the first with an ASEAN member, and pledged to move quickly on bilateral deals with other countries.
The prime minister’s office also said Carney and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. agreed to try and finalize a bilateral agreement in 2026.
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