Pierre Poilievre urges Prime Minister Carney to resist U.S. trade concessions

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has issued a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney urging the federal government not to make further concessions to U.S. President Donald Trump during ongoing trade negotiations. Poilievre and Conservative critic Shuvaloy Majumdar argue that Ottawa has already yielded to several American demands over the past year, including the removal of the digital services tax and the dropping of retaliatory tariffs on most U.S. products under CUSMA.

The pressure comes as a new round of 50 per cent U.S. tariffs on various Canadian goods is scheduled to take effect in approximately 10 days. President Trump has cited several irritants as justification for these tariffs, including Canada’s supply management system for dairy, provincial bans on American alcohol, and previous retaliatory tariffs on U.S. vehicles and auto parts.

Prime Minister Carney stated he is seeking a “win-win deal” involving the steel, aluminum, forestry, and automobile sectors, though he noted it is unclear if a resolution will be reached before the August deadline. Meanwhile, the Dairy Farmers of Canada have urged the government to maintain the supply management system, asserting that previous concessions have only led to fresh demands from the United States.