Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday pushed back against a fresh wave of criticism from the United States, urging Washington to “stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough” and instead take trade negotiations seriously.
Carney said talks between Ottawa and Washington could resume if the US demonstrated a genuine willingness to negotiate. “When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough, and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions,” he told reporters, adding that while the approach was not constructive, “that’s their democracy.”
The Canadian prime minister said the terms proposed by Washington would have effectively reduced Canadian industries to “subsidiaries” of US companies or imposed conditions that would see them gradually scaled back and ultimately eliminated in Canada.
“We’re not going to — of course, we’re not going to accept those terms,” Carney said.
He claimed the US had sought what Canada considered an “uncompetitive” arrangement for major industries, including the automotive sector, while also pressing for changes involving French-language and cultural protections. Carney said any one of these issues would have been sufficient to prevent an agreement.
Washington also sought restrictions on Canada’s ability to negotiate future trade agreements with other countries, according to Carney. Rejecting the proposal, he said, “Canada is a sovereign state. We will strike free trade deals with the countries we wish to strike free trade deals.”
Despite the disagreements, Carney acknowledged that the proposed agreement had included some elements that could have benefited both countries before negotiations collapsed.
His remarks came amid escalating tensions following the breakdown of trade talks on August 21. US President Donald Trump has since proposed renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America” and continued to mock Canada on social media.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also warned that Canada could not engage in a “tit for tat” trade confrontation with an economy that is “13 times larger.”
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth separately drew criticism after posting an image on social media showing two female Canadian cadets at a training centre in British Columbia alongside the words “this is real” and a Canadian flag. Carney described the post as “beneath their office.” The Pentagon, however, defended the post, stating that “The X post speaks for itself.”
The trade negotiations collapsed after the two countries failed to reach an agreement, prompting Trump to impose 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. Ottawa has announced retaliatory tariffs on nearly $20 billion of US products, with duties ranging from 15% to 50%, scheduled to take effect on September 8.
Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of making Canada the “51st US state” since returning to the White House in January 2025, adding another layer of tension to the relationship between the two neighbouring countries.
