Canada has a new Prime Minister and he wants the US to show 'respect'

Mark Carney's landslide win in the Liberal leadership race paves the way for him to be sworn in as Canada's Prime Minister, replacing Justin Trudeau

Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney said that Canada will maintain its retaliatory tariffs on US-made products as long as US President Donald Trump continues the trade conflict.  During his victory speech, Carney emphasised his administration’s commitment to resisting unfair trade measures, Bloomberg reported.

 

“The Canadian government is rightly retaliating with our own tariffs. My government will keep our tariffs on until the Americans show us respect — and make credible, reliable commitments to free and fair trade,” Carney said.  

 

He further said, “There’s someone who’s trying to weaken our economy. Donald Trump has put unjustified tariffs on what we build, on what we sell, on how we earn a living. He’s attacking Canadian workers, families, and businesses. We can’t let him succeed and we won’t.”

 

 

Carney secured a landslide victory in the Liberal Party leadership race, winning 86 per cent of the vote. He is set to be sworn in as Prime Minister in the coming days, succeeding Justin Trudeau.  

 

A former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, Carney will assume office following his decisive win.  

 

Talking about consumer carbon tax, he said, “My government will immediately eliminate the divisive consumer carbon tax on families, farmers and small and medium-sized businesses. And we will stop the hike in the capital gains tax because we think builders should be incentivised for taking risks and rewarded when they succeed.”

 

“Canada needs more of this type of change. Change that puts more money in people’s pockets. Change that makes our companies more competitive. Change that builds the strongest economy in the G-7,” the Prime Minister-designate added.

 

Trump’s tariffs on Canada

The Trump administration recently imposed 25 per cent tariffs on a wide range of Canadian and Mexican products. In response, Canada introduced its own 25 per cent tariffs on C$30 billion ($20.9 billion) worth of US goods, covering items such as orange juice, coffee, and fruit.  

 

The Canadian government has indicated it may expand these tariffs to an additional C$125 billion worth of US products, including automobiles, steel, and various food items.  

 

President Trump, commenting on the trade situation, said tariffs on certain Canadian and Mexican goods scheduled for April 2 “could go up” but did not address the potential for a US recession in 2025.  

 

During an appearance on Fox News’ ‘Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo’, Donald Trump described the one-month delay for Canada and Mexico as “a little bit of a break” and confirmed that reciprocal tariffs would be enforced starting April 2.  

 

In February, he had announced 25 per cent tariffs on imports from both countries, initially postponing them for a month before implementing them on Tuesday.

 

On Wednesday, he extended the pause on tariffs affecting automakers by another month. The following day, he prolonged the delay for Mexican and Canadian goods under the USMCA trade deal until April.  

 

[With inputs from Bloomberg]