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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre launched a pointed attack on the Liberal government’s handling of the Canada-U.S. file Tuesday, saying the results so far have fallen well short of the mark and the prime minister is “losing” the trade war.
Speaking to reporters after Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled his new trade advisory council to help with the U.S. dispute — a body that includes some big-name Conservatives — Poilievre lashed out, saying the Liberals ran on settling the issue at the last election but there has been no discernible progress to this point.
“What has Mark Carney really done in a year on this? He hasn’t held negotiations in five months. The only talks that Mark Carney is doing are YouTube videos where he’s comparing himself to Sir Isaac Brock,” Poilievre said, mocking Carney for invoking the War of 1812 hero who died trying to protect what is now Canada from the last American invasion.
That’s also a reference to Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, who has said there have been no “substantive” trade talks between the two countries since President Donald Trump erupted last fall over an Ontario ad that featured former president Ronald Reagan pillorying tariffs.
On Tuesday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized Prime Minister Mark Carney’s approach to Canada-U.S. economic relations and the upcoming review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. ‘Nobody knows Mark Carney’s plan,’ Poilievre said. ‘Probably not even him.’
The Americans have held two sit-downs with the Mexicans so far this year on the upcoming CUSMA review — there’s a July 1 deadline to decide on extending the trilateral agreement for another 16 years — but no date has been set yet for a Canadian tête-à-tête.
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc told MPs late last week that conversations with the Trump administration are ongoing, but getting the U.S. to agree to a mutually beneficial agreement has been a “challenge.”
LeBlanc also stressed that Canada isn’t interested in a “one-off” trade deal with the U.S., but instead wants a “larger” agreement on economic and other issues.
Canada is pushing for Trump to drop his punishing tariffs on steel, aluminum, autos and lumber, but he hasn’t. Meanwhile, the Americans are demanding Canada change dairy access rules and drop some protections for its cultural sector, among other demands.
“He was elected on the single promise that he would negotiate a win with the U.S. And since that time he’s been losing, losing, losing,” Poilievre said of Carney.
In a new government video, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he’s inspired by the War of 1812 in his fight to diversify trade away from the U.S.
Some U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, notably lumber and some steel-based products, have actually increased over the last year, Poilievre noted. “Another catastrophic failure for a man who calls himself a master negotiator,” he said.
Poilievre’s personal line of attack Tuesday follows his rhetoric last week characterizing Carney, the Oxford-trained former central banker in both Canada and the U.K., as “badly educated in economics.”
While Carney has said there’s been a “rupture” in the bilateral relationship with the protectionist Trump at the helm, Poilievre has instead called for closer ties to the Americans to smooth over these economic irritants.
Poilievre has pitched reviving the auto pact and giving the Americans preferential access to Canada’s critical minerals. The Conservative leader also wants to sell more oil and gas south of the border, something he says could help convince Trump to cut a deal.
“A serious prime minister, a year into this conflict, would be able to tell you his plan. I’ve told you my plan,” Poilievre said.
Speaking to a business crowd in Toronto last week, Poilievre said Carney is “wrong” that there can be a permanent rupture with the U.S., Canada’s biggest customer.
“We need a tariff-free deal. We need to get these obstacles out of the way,” the leader said.
A spokesperson for LeBlanc told CBC News that the minister, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Mark Wiseman, and Janice Charette, Canada’s chief negotiator, are “engaging on an ongoing basis with their U.S. counterparts.”
“Canada is prepared. We have submitted a number of proposals to the Americans. We are ready to do the work to get to a deal very quickly, and will certainly not be the source of any delay,” the spokesperson said.
