Trade Negotiations Between Canada And United States Collapse, Prime Minister Says Country “Cannot Accept”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said trade negotiations with the United States fell apart, and they “cannot accept” what the U.S. offered.

“For over a year, Canada has worked intensively and in good faith with the United States to negotiate a new comprehensive trade deal. We have been pragmatic, patient, and persistent. Our goal has always been to get the best deal for Canadians, never a deal at any price or on any time frame. Late last evening I instructed our negotiators to return to Ottawa. We cannot accept what the U.S. has offered, and we will not give what they have asked,” Carney explained.

“Canada will match the U.S.’ new tariffs dollar for dollar in order to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families, and businesses. We take this step confident that it is in the best interests of Canada. In the coming days, we will release the details of these new tariff measures, which will come into force the Tuesday after Labour Day,” he continued.

For over a year, Canada has worked intensively and in good faith with the United States to negotiate a new comprehensive trade deal. We have been pragmatic, patient, and persistent. Our goal has always been to get the best deal for Canadians, never a deal at any price or on any…

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) August 22, 2026

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More from The New York Times:

In a muscular, 22-minute speech that let Canadians — and Americans — know exactly where he stands, Mr. Carney said that Canada was under attack by President Trump’s punishing tariffs.

“You’re at war when you’re attacked, and we got attacked,” Mr. Carney said.

But unlike his electrifying speech at Davos that spoke of a rupture in the world order, Mr. Carney explicitly named the United States as an aggressor and a threat to Canada and the global economy.

The latest U.S. tariffs, he said, “are designed to hurt and divide us. They are a miscalculation because Canadians will always take care of each other. We know we’re stronger together.”

On Friday night Mr. Carney blamed unspecified last-minute demands for the collapse of negotiations, saying that they were “unfair, uneconomic and called into question the reliability of any deal.” Minutes later, the United States went ahead with previous plans and introduced 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian exports.

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Watch Carney’s speech below:

LIVE: Canada’s response to U.S. tariffs • EN DIRECT : Notre réponse aux droits de douane américains https://t.co/w51zKGOAlq

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) August 22, 2026

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Carney’s announcement follows President Trump saying earlier this week that they “should be able to have a deal with Canada.”

Watch below:

Trump: We should be able to have a deal with Canada. We are starting on a new deal with Mexico. A much better deal for the United States. I only make good deals pic.twitter.com/BEg5pG6ry5

— Acyn (@Acyn) August 21, 2026

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NBC News shared further:

The failure by American and Canadian trade negotiators to reach a deal came after nearly two weeks of furious talks. It was also a dramatic reversal from Tuesday, when President Donald Trump paused the tariffs for three days, writing on social media that the two sides “have a DEAL!”

Officials on both sides had seemed optimistic about a deal up until the very last moment. On Thursday, the Canadian minister responsible for U.S. trade relations met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer for several hours.

“We’re very close, we continue to make progress and we’re going to stay here and do the work that is necessary until we get to that point,” Dominic LeBlanc told reporters as he left Greer’s office late Thursday.

Canadian negotiators met again with their U.S. counterparts on Friday and talks stretched until the final hours of the day. Officials remained at the U.S. trade representative’s office past 10:30 p.m. ET Friday. But ultimately, the two sides were unable to reach a compromise.

In his statement on Friday, Carney said “last-minute changes in the U.S. proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal.”

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