After Trump’s new tariff threat, Canada to ‘reinforce’ its measures on forced labour imports: Carney

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to journalists after arriving to West Block Parliament Hill June 3, 2026. Photo by Blair Gable /Postmedia

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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney said the Trump administration’s latest threat of tariffs following an investigation into forced labour supply chains is “not a surprise” and that Canada supports the overall objective of ending the practice of forced labour.

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Speaking on Wednesday, Carney also hinted his government will soon be proposing more stringent measures to better halt the importation of these slave-made goods into Canada.

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“Canada has a very strong legislative regime against forced labour in supply chains,” he said. “We don’t want any element of forced labour coming in goods and services, and we want to use our influence to eliminate this practice of forced labour and child labour.”

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Carney said his government has been looking at ways to “reinforce” its regime to better stop imports of forced labour and said the intention is to table those legislative measures in the House of Commons before the end of the session on June 19.

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The United States Trade Representative (USTR) released a report late Tuesday which said that Canada, Mexico, the European Union and other countries have “failed to effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour.”

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The USTR is invoking section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which is designed to address unfair foreign acts, policies or practices affecting U.S. commerce.

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As a result, the Trump administration proposes those countries, which include Canada, be hit with 10 per cent additional tariffs. Dozens of other countries which have partial or no bans on forced labour imports could be hit with a higher duty of 12.5 per cent.

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“This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field,” he added.

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Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, met with Greer in Washington D.C. on Tuesday to relay Canada’s position on the issue.

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“I would say that the conversation today helped the Americans understand our shared commitment to issues like… the question around forced labour and the fight against forced labour,” LeBlanc told reporters at the outset of the meeting.

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“It won’t surprise you that we share the concern of the Americans and other economic partners that we need to do everything we can together to face this challenge,” he said.

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LeBlanc, however, would not speculate on whether Canada would retaliate if these new tariffs went ahead.

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“We’re not going to answer hypothetical questions about a potential response to a measure that we haven’t seen,” he said.