Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has captured global attention by championing the idea of an alliance of mid-level economic powers that would operate beyond President Donald Trump’s increasingly protectionist United States.
Yet Carney’s push to lessen dependence on the U.S. is colliding with a stubborn reality: access to American markets remains a crucial part of Canada’s appeal to prospective trading partners, according to interviews with a dozen government officials and business leaders.
Since winning election in April 2025, Carney’s team has led four trade missions, including two to Asia, seeking foreign investment in mining, engineering and infrastructure projects. A fifth, the largest so far, is headed to Japan later this month.
But Canadian officials acknowledge that the main draw for many potential trading partners is the prospect of gaining tariff-free access to the world’s largest market through Canada’s participation in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.
Carney regularly touts Canada’s preferential access to the U.S. market, noting that more than 85% of bilateral trade remains tariff-free.
“That (USMCA deal) has been kind of a baseline of our investment attraction message,” said a top Canadian government official who requested anonymity to speak frankly.
ICYMI: “I’m not looking to renew it (USMCA).”
I recently posted this Sundance offering on the matter at Readers Tips:
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/06/11/asian-trade-officials-remind-canada-that-all-deals-are-contingent-on-access-to-usa-market/
Good to know when talking to an elbozo relative who thinks we need to ignore the US and Carney is doing great getting deals elsewhere. It was already stupid to think we could replace a short truck drive with a truck drive, cargo ship, truck drive to people who don’t want any of our North American goods anyway.
Nobody thinks Canada can completely replace US trade. But Canada can lesson it’s dependence on it. As an example, increasing amounts of aluminum are being sold to Europe, and Germany recently agreed to buy Canadian LNG.
The idea to lesson trade between the US and Canada is not Canada’s idea. It’s Trump’s idea. Canada is simply responding to it.
BS. There’s some gov ad going on in which there’s this gem “we’re gonna’ be our own best customers”. May be news to you but guess what – Trump is NOT the cause of all troubles, past present and future. We-Canadians can be idiots by ourselves, without any help from outside.
Trump is not the cause of all Canada’s troubles, but he’s the cause of a fair hunk of it.
I know you think Trump should be above all criticism, but if he’s going to act like a three year old throwing toys out of the playpen, he’s going to get some constructive feedbadck.
No, Trump can be criticized no pbm: I think he has a short focus, he should stick to his plan before he was elected but instead he’s all over the place (Greenland kerfuffle, Iran, even this recent Gordie Howe bridge hissy fit he’s throwing). Still, he’s waay better than the entire Left, worldwide. His principles and reflexes are very good, rock-solid. Whereas all the Left globally (Dems in US + Librano$/NDP here in Canada + the eco-Socialists in EU) is full of crap.
The Liberals are the cause of Canada’s troubles. End of story.
“The Liberals are the cause of Canada’s troubles. End of story.”
I’ve been voting against Liberals for 45 years, but even I’m not that blind.
“Trump is not the cause of all Canada’s troubles, but he’s the cause of a fair hunk of it.”
No he’s not…Mark Carney is.
Mark Carney despicably and quite deliberately used TDS to manipulate gullible Canadians into voting for him. He didn’t care ONE BIT what would happen to us afterwards.
“he’s going to get some constructive feedback.”
From you? Don’t make me laugh…
All he had to do to mollify Donald Trump and deal with his tariffs was to take legitimate (and long overdue) action on Canada’s lax border security and agree to at least talk about our ridiculous dairy regulations. Instead, he chose to confront Trump in a battle that HE KNEW we could not win.
Our current economic trouble is 100% on him.
Yes, yes, yes. Trump can pile tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum, copper, and lumber, plus a 10% duty on all non-USMCA goods, and threaten far more extensive duties in the future, and this will magically have no effect on the Canadian economy. It’s a miracle.
Quit telling yourself fairy tales. No one’s buying it.
“But Canada can lesson it’s dependence on it.”
Or we could lessen its dependence on it.
It’s not my fault everyone gets the English language wrong except me.
lessen? Must be that ‘Canadian English’
“It’s not my fault everyone gets the English language wrong except me.”
(okay, that was good…:)
Marc Miller’s wet dream came true today with his pronouncement of Bill C-34, which will require anyone who wants access to the internet to provide some kind of digital ID proof of age. In conjunction with Bills C-8, 9 and 22, further limiting our Liberty. Under the guise of protecting the children, of course.
Why are so many Canadians concerned what Donald Trump is doing, but not what our government is doing?
Ignoring the world’s largest single market continues to pay benefits.
No one’s ignoring it.
Indeed, some of us are pissing on it.
I could be wrong but I read the free trade agreement is in effect until 2036 and none of the parties can break the deal. The 2026 option allows for changes, but the deal can’t be cancelled. At least this is what I read.
Two minutes later I prove myself wrong. It’s complicated.
https://thehub.ca/2025/10/02/need-to-know-what-happens-if-canada-and-the-u-s-cant-come-to-an-agreement-on-cusma/
Any of the parties can withdraw at any time with six months notice. That does not have to follow any schedule.
They like our oil and gas, i mean Alberta’s.
If the PQ win in October, no pipeline to NB.
What happened to oil by rail, Mr Buffet?
My money is on Trump NOT canceling the USMCA. His latest rantings sound like bargaining ploys to me. And there’s a ton of pressure from within the US to continue the deal.
But even if Trump does cancel the USMCA, it might not get canceled. Officially it would, of course. Trump has that power. But in the US, the terms of the USMCA are implemented through federal legislation, and the only way to rescind that is through more legislation. But is congress willing to do that? And what happens if the Democrats gain a majority in the House in November?
“My money is on Trump NOT canceling the USMCA. His latest rantings sound like bargaining ploys to me.”
FINALLY, you begin to catch on.
Cracks about “the 51st state” and “the governor of Canada” were made for the same reason.
Regarding cracks about the 51st state, I think Trump is quite serious, and it explains much of his behaviour towards Canada.
Otherwise I can see no purpose to them. Carney might make concessions because he’s worried that the USMCA might get canceled, but he isn’t going to make concessions because Trump imagines himself as Alexander The Great.
The basic stupidity of the Liberals is simply that Trump is on the right trade and economic path but Canada doesn’t want to follow. Instead the Liberals want Canada to be more “European” and align with the shrinking European economy which has been cut almost in half as a percent of world GDP in the last twenty years. Or align more with the China Communist Party (which is no surprise given that Pierre and Justin Trudeau are both closet Maoists along with many other Liberal hacks) and sell out Canada to belt and road.
The Liberals always like to try to say Canadians aren’t “Americans” and try to display “differences” (like our idiotic “we are united by our two languages” nonsense).
Trump thinks the US is so powerful it can go alone — economically, militarily, every which way. That is incorrect. Trump has fallen for finge economic theories, as the US cannot produce all of the goods and materials its citizens need and want, and especially can’t produce them efficiently. And even the US military needs allies, as the Iranian conflict demonstrates.
Thank you for confirming you are a WEF globalist. How … conservative … of you. Trump’s “rantings” have always been about FAIR trade … and about the hollowing out of America’s manufacturing middle class. I guess that sounds like “rantings” to those who are on the wrong end of those goals. Those who have free-LUNCHED on the US for a century.
BTW … you sound like the TDS writers for the Daily Mail who describe every comment by Trump as “raging” about something or other. Terminal TDS.
… and especially can’t produce them efficiently.
Meaning we can’t produce them with third world slave wages? Or in depressed Canadian dollars? That we will produce goods while paying prevailing First-world free-market wages? And produce those goods with appropriate environmental safeguards, and worker protections?
Yeah … how immoral of Trump.
In Kenji’s world, anyone who thinks free trade is mostly a good thing and necessary for prosperity is a “WEF globalist.”
Remember when self-identified conservatives were FOR commerce unfettered by government, and it was the progressives who used to pile on tariffs in the interests of “fair trade”? Good times.
Pssst … what YOU call free trade is actually unfair competition and skewed markets. Tariffs on US products GOOD … retaliatory tariffs BAD. Such a simplistic anti-American viewpoint.
Most of Trump’s tariffs are not retaliatory. What was Trump retaliating for when he imposed or increased tariffs on Canadian aluminum, steel, copper, and lumber? It wasn’t over dairy products, which is both small potatoes and fully agreed to by Trump in 2020.
What makes you believe that “retaliatory” has to be like product for like product? I won’t go into detail … but the retaliation has to be painful and meaningful. If you tariff the shit out of Harley Davidson motorcycles … what? Are we limited to tariffing Bombadier motorcycles… that nobody buys in America?
I never said retaliatory tariffs had to be of the same kind. I do say that Trump had little or nothing to be retaliatory about towards Canada. The few excuses he presented were patently weak.
“Otherwise I can see no purpose to them.”
Trump played Carney like a fiddle. Now he can respond to any states trying to pressure him into letting Canada off the hook on trade negotiations with a simple “I tried…but he refused to listen.”
Pierre Poilievre was no better, jumping right on board the TDS bandwagon without hesitation. Screw them both.
No one can make sense of what Trump’s doing, so his admirers claim he’s playing four-dimensional chess that is beyond the comprehension of us mere mortals.
That’s one theory. The simpler theory is that we can’t make sense of it because it doesn’t make sense.
Yeah … you and I have a very different opinion about Trump’s economic sense. And certainly a difference of opinion on Americanism.
https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/06/us-steel-mon-valley-works-billions-upgrades-environment/
Maybe you can reprocess and sell that crap ChiCom steel to the EU?
In plain terms, everybody and their grandmother wants and needs trade with the US. Period.
It is the biggest market with population that can afford and wants to buy the best of everything.
This country has the advantage that it is just across the border.
As much as the idiot politicians want to pretend, it is not going to work.
Trade with overseas east or west is cumbersome and needs a lot of bribe, needs a lot of transportation and other such difficulties. It is not a major problem though it does create more costs.
“As much as the idiot politicians want to pretend, it is not going to work.”
It boggles my mind that the Canadian public seems to believe that it will. Are we the collectively dumbest nation in the world?
Short answer: yes. KM is here to demonstrate that. The Harper government spent almost all of its time making trade deal with everyone and their dog and we have nothing to show for all that effort. Now marxist is trying to do the same. Canucks just don’t get the fact that people in countries that have the gubmint taking away all the disposable income through taxation which is europe and much of canuckistan these days, will not buy anything from you.
KM seems to be particularly exercised about this issue. Maybe he sees his world evaporating.
The Canadian MSM is paid to make us the dumbest nation in the world.
That’s why I don’t watch tv (news), or listen to the radio, or read a newspaper.
Most of the dumbest, misinformed people I know, DO!
https://archive.ph/bG9dg
(Sorry, the Red Star)
Comments from the President of Honda Canada echo the above article. As well as comments by the President of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association to the Finance Committee (posted testimony a couple days ago in Reader Tips)
Somebody better figure something out and soon.
Say bye bye to Canada’s auto industries. Who would build cars in Canada if you can’t sell them in the worlds largest free market, right next door.
“Say bye bye to Canada’s auto industries. Who would build cars in Canada if you can’t sell them in the worlds largest free market, right next door.”
No one, that’s who.
Watch Carney try to blame the looming economic disaster on President Donald Trump.
Watch our ‘news media’ enthusiastically help him do it.
Watch Canadians fall for this *by the millions*.
One would think elites like Carney would have been on top of this long ago.
Trump this Trump that whining silly Canadians that just can’t see . Trump flawed as he is doesn’t play by the same pliable rules the globalist do.
Even more unbelievable is that many Canadians think we are the same country that used to punch above our weight we’re not that country anymore and Trump and everyone else and their mother knows it.
But will still blow smoke up a new world order clown’s arse.
I don’t give a sht about Trump it’s what we have done to ourselves , and people including those that voted Conservative for the last 40 years .
What I wonder is what they where voting against – silly terminal social engineering Utopian slop that slowly kills a countries roots , or strictly economical stuff ?
Yup…… It’s Trump smelling blood in the water , but he sure as hell never made us bleed like a stuck pig.
Complacent blind, arrogant,silly , people that never thought this could happen.
That on one hand always complained about America to make themselves feel special all the while the country drifted into a sess pit of mediocrity, or failed to see integrity just doesn’t matter .
What chicken shit logic comes out of people when we are teetering on a ledge we put ourselves on . I know one thing I’ve never been more proud of sticking to my social conservative small town roots.
A sane country beats the hell out of an easy retirement, that isn’t going to be easy for anyone if the sht hole with no bottom isn’t dealt with seriously.
Trump- fk what a joke. I love how some people say the whole world is nuts like a friggin excuse.
Tough decent people take accountability , that’s why there isn’t much of it to be had now a days.
And the same killer clowns hope for another leftist twat or fiscal cowardly Conservative to save our skin.
Myself I hope Rubio , and Vance get to kick us in our withered nuts.
We asked for it, like it or not we did.
Because we watched as the malignant part of Liberalism started ruling the day, while we ate Lotus leaves.
Comment of the month. Pretty much nails everything
“Comment of the month. Pretty much nails everything”
It does. It’s a keeper.