Lutnick says Canadian minister didn’t deny trying to ‘blow up’ negotiations

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick speaks with OpenAI founder Sam Altman during the G20 Innovation Ministerial on September 2, 2026 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Photo by Sean Rayford /Getty Images

Article content

OTTAWA — U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said a Canadian minister did not deny it when asked if Canadian negotiators were trying to “blow up” trade negotiations last month.

Article content

Lutnick, the brash Trump cabinet member who is a close advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, made the claim during an interview on CNBC Wednesday morning when discussing the end of negotiations late Friday Aug. 21.

Article content

Article content

Article content

“Friday at 4 o’clock, the Canadians call. They start adding crazy ideas to the mix. So, I said to one of the ministers, ‘are you actually trying to blow this up?’ And his answer to me was, ‘I’m not allowed to say that.’ And they blew it up for political reasons only,” Lutnick said.

Article content

Article content

The only minister present at the negotiations with the U.S. was Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc. LeBlanc’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Article content

Lutnick’s comments were the latest salvo in an escalating war of words between the U.S. and Canadian federal governments since trade talks fell through on Aug. 21.

Article content

The Canadian and U.S. governments have consistently blamed the other side for blowing up recent trade negotiations aimed at avoiding new tit-for-tat tariffs and reducing ongoing U.S. tariffs on key Canadian sectors.

Article content

The day after instructing Canadian negotiators to leave the table and come home, Carney told reporters the U.S. had added a series of last-minute unacceptable conditions to draft deal text that pushed him to cut negotiations.

Article content

He cited the addition of language on auto industry tariffs, such as a failure by the U.S. to reduce tariffs on heavy-duty trucks such as those produced in auto plants in Southern Ontario. He also cited “efforts to restrict our protections of our language, our culture, and in effect, our sovereignty.”

Article content

Article content

In response, U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer and Lutnick have accused the Canadians of cutting talks off for political reasons.

Article content

Days after talks ended, Greer attributed the collapse to Canada ultimately wanting more than what his administration was willing to give, noting that the proposed agreement included halving U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, reducing tariffs on Canadian autos and tariff relief on Canadian softwood lumber.

Article content

The USTR said it was the best market access to the U.S. compared to any other country in the world.

Article content

“They wanted more,” said Greer. “I don’t know if it was political for them, it certainly doesn’t make economic sense, but perhaps for political reasons, they have some byelections coming up,” Greer said in reference to three federal by-elections that occurred Monday Aug. 31. The Liberals won all three.

Article content

National Post also recently reported a senior Canadian government official noting that the country’s negotiators pulled out because Ontario Premier Doug Ford “was not on board.” A key Canadian concession in the negotiations was that all provincial liquor boards would resume stocking U.S. alcohol.