GOLDSTEIN: Tracking Carney’s ever-changing positions on a trade deal with Trump

Carney keeps moving the goalposts

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Published Apr 22, 2026  •  Last updated 10 minutes ago  •  3 minute read

Mark Carney strikes a fighter's pose at a campaign rally while wearing a Montreal Canadiens jersey on April 22, 2025. Photo by John Mahoney /Postmedia Network

If you’re confused about where Canada stands heading into negotiations with the U.S. on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, it’s likely because Prime Minister Mark Carney keeps moving the goalposts.

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Here’s a brief history of how we got to where we are today:

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Jan. 21, 2025: During the Liberal leadership race Carney said: “Dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs by Canada (against any tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump) should be a given and they should be aimed where their impacts in the United States will be felt the hardest.”

March 17, 2025: Now prime minister, Carney reverses his position, saying: “There is a limit to matching these tariffs dollar-for-dollar given the fact our economy is a tenth the size of the United States.”

March 22, 2025: Liberals release campaign ad with Carney and Mike Myers chatting at a hockey rink, both declaring the Liberals’ approach to dealing with Trump will be “Elbows Up!”

April 26, 2025: Liberal election campaign release pledges: “A Mark Carney-led government will stand strong against President Trump’s tariffs …”

June 16, 2025: Post-election, Prime Minister’s Office issues release that:

“Prime Minister Carney and President Trump (meeting at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta) … agreed to pursue negotiations toward a deal within the coming 30 days.”

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June 29, 2025: Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announces Canada will “rescind the Digital Services Tax (DST) in anticipation of a mutually beneficial comprehensive trade arrangement with the United States. Consistent with this action, Prime Minister Carney and President Trump have agreed that parties will resume negotiations with a view towards agreeing on a deal by July 21, 2025.”

(The July 21, 2025 deadline passes without a deal, as does a second deadline of Aug. 1, 2025.)

July 1, 2025:The Globe and Mail reports that Washington ambassador Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s chief trade negotiator, said “the Canadian government is still aiming to get all of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs lifted as part of a deal with the White House later this month.”

July 15, 2025: Carney, speaking in French, says a trade deal with Trump without tariffs is unlikely because “there’s not a lot of evidence right now” the U.S. is willing to make one.

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August 22, 2025: Carney ends most Canadian counter-tariffs on CUSMA-compliant goods, matching U.S. exemptions, although sectoral tariffs on steel, aluminum, and automobiles in both countries remain in place.

Oct. 8, 2025: CBC reports Carney assuring Canadians he will get a new deal on trade with the Americans that will be better than CUSMA, which he described as already the best trade deal any country has with the U.S.

“Speaking in question period while facing pointed questions from the Opposition about what he accomplished out of his Oval Office sit-down with U.S. President Donald Trump, Carney said Canada already ‘has the best deal with the Americans’ — most products are still being sold into the U.S. tariff-free, despite Trump’s trade action — and ‘we will get an even better deal.’

“We are still negotiating further gains in major sectors,” Carney said. “As we speak, our team is negotiating. This is not just words. We will get a deal.”

Dec. 18 2025: CBC: Asked whether Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s anti-tariff ad quoting former U.S. president Ronald Reagan scuttled Canada/U.S. negotiations on ending sectoral tariffs, Carney responds: “We were close to an agreement” but that in the wake of the ad, negotiations had stalled.

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