Canada and US spiral into trade war as Carney says ‘we got attacked’

WASHINGTON (MNTV) — Canada and the United States have plunged deeper into a trade war after negotiations collapsed in Washington, with Prime Minister Mark Carney accusing President Donald Trump of an economic attack and vowing Ottawa will not capitulate.

The US imposed 50 percent tariffs on about $20 billion of Canadian goods, hitting products from hockey sticks to medical supplies, and Canada has pledged matching duties from Sept. 8 targeting American steel, dairy, appliances, and electronics. 

Trump, in his first comments after the talks broke down, said on his Truth Social platform that Canada wanted the benefits of U.S. statehood without joining, and accused Ottawa of heavy tariffs on American farmers. 

“You are at war when you are attacked, and we got attacked,” Carney told reporters in Ottawa, saying Canada could not accept Washington’s terms.

The tariffs threaten Canadian exporters, especially smaller firms. Dan Kelly of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business estimated about 40 percent of small Canadian exporters will be directly hit, with nearly a third expecting revenue to fall by at least half. 

The backlash has spread to U.S. states tied to Canada’s economy: New York Governor Kathy Hochul accused Trump of attacking an ally and raising consumer costs, while Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar warned of higher prices for farmers and families.

The dispute strains the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the pact from Trump’s first term governing about $2 trillion in annual trade, which he has refused to extend. 

The damage reaches beyond trade: Canadian entries into New York fell 21 percent in 2025, and a Globe and Mail poll found just 9 percent of Canadians consider the U.S. a trustworthy ally, with 51 percent saying they had canceled U.S. trips. 

Carney called the collapse “certainly not good news” for the agreement’s future, as a commercial dispute between close allies hardens into a broader political rupture.