Canada – U.S. 1 May 2025-

Is Canada-U.S. trade ‘progress’ possible in 2 weeks? Ontario rep says ‘yes’
Provincial and federal negotiators are making progress with the Trump administration on lowering U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Canada, Ontario’s trade representative in Washington says, suggesting a deal could be close at hand.
David Paterson said he’s hopeful that further progress in reducing those tariffs can be made by the time Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney are face-to-face at the G7 Leader’s Summit in Alberta in two weeks.

31 May
Trump’s new steel tariffs will cause ‘mass disruption’, Canadian industry warns
Trump said on Friday that he will double the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50 per cent.
Catherine Cobden, president and CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA), said the steel industry in Canada and the U.S. were highly integrated and tariffs would hit steel producers on both sides.
“Steel tariffs at this level will create mass disruption and negative consequences across our highly integrated steel supply chains and customers on both sides of the border,” Cobden said in a statement Saturday.

26 May
King Charles Visits Canada in a Subtle Rebuke to Trump
The British monarch, who is Canada’s official head of state, is coming at a moment when President Trump has threatened the country’s sovereignty.
(NYT) Charles and Queen Camilla are in Canada at the invitation of Prime Minister Mark Carney. Charles will open Canada’s Parliament Tuesday in a ceremony laden with pageantry and pomp before winding up his two day visit. It was Charles’s first visit to Canada since he was crowned two years ago. …
Without saying so explicitly, Mr. Carney suggested that he was taking the unusual step of having the monarch open Parliament to emphasize Canada’s distinct heritage from the United States, at a time when President Trump has repeatedly called for Canada to become the 51st U.S. state.

23 May
Bad news for Trump’s Golden Dome: He can’t build it without Canada
The president would need to rely on Ottawa to track Chinese and Russian missiles that could come at the U.S. from over the horizon.
(Politico) President Donald Trump left out a key detail this week when he outlined his plans for a massive missile and air defense shield over the continent: He can’t build it without Canada.
And it’s not clear America’s northern neighbor wants in.
…while Trump insists the country wants to participate, Canadian leaders appear more tepid.
“There’s a lot we just don’t know,” said Shuvaloy Majumdar, a Conservative member of Canada’s parliament. “There’s a lot that needs to be revealed about how the economic and security partnership with America and Canada will unfold.”
Trump suddenly finds himself in need of an ally he has largely forsaken. He has singled out Canada for free riding on American military might and preferential trade ties, and has engaged in a tariff battle that has stilted relations. Prime Minister Mark Carney has warned the United States can’t take Ottawa for granted and has begun searching for other security partners.
The shield, therefore, gives Canada some new leverage in the countries’ tenuous relationship.
“None of [the Golden Dome partnership] has been spelled out or negotiated,” Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview. “The president, because of his rhetoric, has alienated a large part of the Canadian population, and that’s being reflected in the political leaders … it’s not, you know, good old Canada-USA. It’s like, ‘We can’t do this easily, because our people are very upset.’”

14 May
Canada’s new tariffs on U.S. drop to ‘nearly zero’ with exemptions, Oxford says
(BNN/Bloomberg) Canada has effectively suspended almost all of its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products, tamping down inflation risks and improving its growth outlook, according to Oxford Economics.
The government imposed new import taxes of 25 per cent on about $60 billion (US$43 billion) of U.S.-made goods in March in response to the first round of tariffs from the Trump administration. Canada also retaliated against U.S. auto tariffs in early April by putting its own levies on U.S. vehicles.
But Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government then announced a six-month tariff exemption for products used in Canadian manufacturing, processing and food and beverage packaging, and for items related to health care, public safety and national security. Automakers got a break, too: companies that manufacture in Canada, such as General Motors Co., are allowed to import some vehicles into Canada tariff-free.
Those exemptions mean Canada’s tariff-rate increase on the U.S. is “nearly zero,” according to calculations by Oxford.
“It’s a very strategic approach from a new prime minister to really say, ‘We’re not going to have a retaliation,’” Tony Stillo, Oxford’s director of Canada economics, said in an interview. “It’s a strategic play on the government’s part to not damage the Canadian economy.”

13 May
Travellers change plans to avoid intense U.S. border checks as Canadian airlines rethink routes
(Globe & Mail) More Canadian travellers are avoiding the United States, with some deterred by intensive border checks and shifting their holiday plans, while Canada’s airlines are adjusting their routes and schedules in response.
New figures released Monday show a steep drop in the number of Canadian residents returning from the U.S. by either air or car in April, as fewer people head south of the border for shopping or vacations.
Travel to the U.S. takes another hit in April as Canadians vacation elsewhere
Canadian residents returning by automobile from the U.S. in April fell on a year-over-year basis for the fourth consecutive month, preliminary numbers released by Statistics Canada showed Monday. The 1.2 million trips represented a 35.2 per cent drop from the same month in 2024 and 45.1 per cent lower than April 2019, before the pandemic.
In a backlash against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and “51st state” threats over the past few months, Canadians have cancelled trips and appear to be stepping back from making future travel plans south of the border.
… Canadian residents returning by air from the United States in April totalled 582,700, down 19.9 per cent from a year ago, even as return trips from overseas went up. The change came as overall Canadian-resident return trips by air edged down 1.7 per cent to 1.8 million as return trips from overseas countries rose 9.9 per cent compared with April 2024.
Overall international arrivals, including both Canadian residents and non-residents, by air and automobile totalled 4.5 million in April, down 15.2 per cent from the same month last year, Statistics Canada said.
… In March, Air Canada reduced flights by 10 per cent to Florida, Las Vegas and Arizona – usually go-to hot spots during spring break season. Competitors WestJet, Flair Airlines and Air Transat made similar moves.
Last week, Air Canada also announced a 16 per cent capacity increase into Latin America starting in October.
Several conferences relocate north of the border as Canadians refuse to travel to the U.S.
Conference organizers say they made changes after members expressed concerns over U.S. travel

6 May
Carney says Canada ‘not for sale’ while Trump pitches tax breaks
The president took a friendlier posture in person, but refused to budge on tariffs.
(Politico) The first substantive encounter between the newly elected Canadian leader and Trump, whose antagonism of Canada helped Carney gain political support, involved mostly gestures of friendship and pledges from both sides to reset the trade relationship. But the public portion of their remarks did not reveal specifics of what shape a pact might take — and the impasse over Trump’s tariffs remained obvious.
Trump, Carney faceoff in Oval Office leaves gaping differences on tariffs, 51st state
(AP) … Carney later described his conversation with Trump as “wide ranging” and “constructive,” telling reporters that the prospect is there for positive negotiations but there would be “zigs and zags.” Carney said he stressed the value that Canadian companies and factories created for U.S. automakers while stressing that it was unfair to assume one meeting could resolve any differences.
“I wouldn’t have expected white smoke coming out of this meeting,” Carney said after the Tuesday meeting, referencing the signal that a new pope has been selected.
Carney said that he privately asked Trump to stop calling Canada the 51st state during their meeting. But when pressed on how Trump responded, the Canadian prime minister said: “He’s the president. He’s his own person.”
Handshakes, friendship and ‘never, never, never, never, never’: five takeaways from Carney-Trump meeting
In the much anticipated first encounter, a positive tone held despite the Canadian leader’s rebuff against US advances
(The Guardian) 1. Canada is not for sale
“Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign … it’s not for sale,” said Carney. “Won’t be for sale, ever.” …

5 May
Trump says he doesn’t know why Carney wants to meet as business experts raise caution about trade deal
U.S. President Donald Trump says he does not know what to expect from his Tuesday meeting with Mark Carney or why the Prime Minister wants to see him.
(Globe & Mail) In comments less than 24 hours before the pair sit down for their first tête-à-tête, Mr. Trump adopted a nonchalant air.
“I don‘t know. He’s coming to see me. I’m not sure what he wants to see me about, but I guess he wants to make a deal. Everybody does,” the President said Monday in the Oval Office when asked what he anticipated for the meeting. “They all want to make a deal because we have something that they all want.”
Carney heads to Washington, D.C. ahead of Trump meeting: PMO
Carney, in his first comments Friday following the election, said it was “important to distinguish want from reality,” adding that the upcoming talks would be difficult.
“I’m not pretending those discussions will be easy,” he said. “They won’t proceed in a straight line. There will be zigs and zags, ups and downs. But as I said in my remarks, I will fight for the best deal for Canada and only accept the best deal for Canada and take as much time as necessary.”

Northeastern governors look to sidestep Trump administration in Canadian trade war
Governors from six states, including Massachusetts and New York, invited the premiers of six Canadian provinces for a meeting in Boston in the coming weeks.
Northeastern governors are looking to bolster their economic ties with America’s northern neighbor and counteract the Trump administration’s combative trade policies.
In a letter sent Monday, governors from six states, including Massachusetts and New York, invited the premiers of six Canadian provinces for a meeting in Boston in the coming weeks.
“As Governors of New England, we want to keep open lines of communication and cooperation and identify avenues to overcome the hardship of these uninvited tariffs and help our economies endure,” the letter, led by Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, reads. “As we continue to navigate this period of great uncertainty, we are committed to preserving cross border travel, encouraging tourism in our respective jurisdictions, and promoting each other’s advantages and amenities.”

2 May
Canada’s Mark Carney on Getting Ready to Meet Trump (video)
(Bloomberg Television) Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday to discuss trade issues and the broader relationship between Canada and the US. Carney spoke about the upcoming meeting.

30 April
Canada will deal with Trump ‘on our terms’, Carney tells BBC
Carney said talks with Trump would be “on our terms, not on their terms”.
“There is a partnership to be had, an economic and security partnership,” he said.
“It’s going to be a very different one than we’ve had in the past.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed he will meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday [7 May].
Carney said he’s anticipating “difficult, but constructive” talks in Washington.
Trump has repeatedly voiced a desire for Canada to become the “51st state” and has said that the United States acquiring Greenland is a matter of “national security.” He has also made noise about taking back the Panama Canal.
These dreams of expansion are a transparent effort by Trump to cement some kind of legacy for himself and distract from his utterly failed domestic agenda.
On whether or not he’ll visit the White House, Carney said “it depends.”
“I’ve been to Washington. I’ve been to the White House. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen all the monuments. I’ve been to Florida even,” he said. “So I’m not going as a tourist. I’ll go when there’s a serious discussion to be had.”