Day two of the gathering of Canada’s provincial leaders saw the prime minister join in to update them on trade talks with Washington. Although he wouldn’t provide specifics, publicly, on what’s happening at the negotiating table with the Americans, he did say he would only accept the best deal for Canada. But he stressed the importance of the provinces presenting a unified front.
Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived at Premier Ford’s cottage near Huntsville, Ontario, on Monday, then joined the other premiers Tuesday morning, where his update on trade talks with the US was brief and non-committal.
“We are looking for the best deal for Canada,” Carney said. “We are only going to accept the best deal for Canada that is very much informed by our discussions. We all understand as well that the global trade environment is changing.”
While Carney said some of the focus is on a new economic and security deal with the US, he’s also focused on a unified Canada looking for new global trade partners.
“We have a lot to do in this country. We have a lot of positive things to do in this country, building this country one Canadian economy. Our phone is ringing off the hook from other countries that want to do more with Canada,” Carney said. “I’ve had over 80 bilaterals with world leaders since I became prime minister.”
Carney wouldn’t say if Ottawa would retaliate if there were no trade deal with the US by the August 1 deadline. The premiers also appear to be giving Carney their full support. Ontario’s Doug Ford said talks with Carney were very positive.
The premiers appear to be stepping up, signing agreements and memorandums that are helping to peel away internal trade barriers. One of the most significant agreements in principle came between Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario. Here’s Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
“This new agreement will help move western oil and gas to new and existing refineries in southern Ontario, and to northern tidewater with a deep-sea port in James Bay,” Ford said. “It will connect Ontario’s critical minerals in the Ring of Fire region to new ports in western Canada. Helping to build a true end-to-end critical mineral supply chain.”
In another move, Manitoba and Saskatchewan signed a deal to upgrade infrastructure to increase access to global markets through the Port of Churchill, currently Canada’s only Arctic seaport, serviced by rail.
As for the threatened tariffs from President Donald Trump and the possibility of a deal by the August deadline, Premier Ford and his Quebec counterpart, Francois Legault, were non-committal because of who orchestrated the tariffs in the first place.
“I think it’s realistic. But the president is so unpredictable. We’ve seen it over and over again. You talk to him one day, and the next day he’s on some media outlet saying there’s a 35 percent tariff,” Ford said.
“Of course, we would like to have the ideal deal, as fast as possible,” Legault said. “But what can we get. You almost need to ask Donald Trump, and I’m not even sure he knows himself what he wants.”
A new report from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce estimates the average cost of building a home in the US could increase by 14 thousand dollars by the end of 2027 if tariffs on Canadian goods remain in place. And Canada is the third-largest source of imports used in US home construction. That’s according to the US trade group the National Association of Home Builders.
