Canada’s relations with the United States will not be as “close” as under previous administrations, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned on Thursday following US President Donald Trump’s comments hinting at Canada becoming a state and the imposition of new tariffs.
Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Carney said the country would enjoy a “fundamentally different relationship” - and that would mean relying on the US significantly less.
“We have to look after ourselves,” he said, noting government efforts would be made to ensure that the flailing relations would not dramatically impact small businesses.
LIVE: update on our tariff response · EN DIRECT : mise à jour sur notre réponse aux tarifs https://t.co/y8wcuIwijK
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) March 27, 2025
Canada, along with Mexico, is part of the United States-Mexico-Canada free trade deal that is scheduled to be reviewed next year. Trump said on Friday that he was open to carving out deals with countries on tariffs, but those agreements would have to be negotiated after reciprocal tariffs are announced on April 2.
The tariffs include a 25% import tax on cars and automotive parts not manufactured within the US.
“It’s clear the US is no longer a reliable partner. It is possible that with comprehensive negotiations, we could reestablish an element of confidence, but there will be no going backwards,” the Canadian leader said, adding he had visited allies France and the United Kingdom recently to cement alternative options.
“We will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States,” Carney continued. “We will need to pivot our trade relationships elsewhere, and we will need to do things previously thought impossible at speeds we haven’t seen in generations.”
Despite the comments, Trump and Carney spoke via phone call on Friday in a discussion described as productive.
"It was an extremely productive call. We agree on many things and will be meeting immediately after Canada's upcoming election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors," Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
"The president respected Canada's sovereignty today, both in his private and public comments," Carney told a press conference in Montreal.
Tariffs on US production
In addition to building upon relations with other international allies, former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau imposed 25% tariffs on C$30 billion ($20.92b.) in goods imported from the US in early March.
The C$30b. was part of an overall retaliation plan to target C$155b. worth of goods imports from the US, though the remaining C$125b. was delayed when Trump put off broader tariffs. Carney, who replaced Trudeau on March 9, has said the list of goods subject to tariffs on April 2 remains in place depending on what the US announces.
The first tranche of retaliation includes a list of 1,256 products, such as orange juice, peanut butter, wine, spirits, beer, coffee, appliances, apparel, footwear, motorcycles, cosmetics, and pulp and paper.
In terms of the value of imports associated with some of the major products, cosmetics and body care are worth C$3.5b., appliances and other household items are worth C$3.4b., pulp and paper products are worth C$3b., and plastic products are worth C$1.8b.