Opinion: Mark Carney’s defiance shows the world how to respond to Trump’s threats

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeOpinionOp-Ed Opinion: Mark Carney’s defiance shows the world how to respond to Trump’s threats Eric Van Rythoven: The point is not that Canada can defeat the U.S. — it can’t. But it can cause enough pain in the right place, and at the right time, to make a trade war politically costly. Author of the article: By Eric Van Rythoven Published Aug 31, 2026 Last updated 10 hours ago 5 minute read Join the conversation Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks about Canada’s response to new U.S. tariffs during a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Aug. 22. PHOTO BY HYUNGCHEOL PARK /Postmedia Article content Canadian Prime Minister Carney announced the suspension of Canada-United States trade talks, citing “last-minute changes” made by American negotiators that “were unfair, uneconomic and called into question the reliability of any deal.” Article content Within hours, President Donald Trump’s new Section 338 tariffs, targeting $28 billion in Canadian goods, took effect. Early estimates project that the tariffs could cost 90,000 Canadian jobs. Article content Article content Article content Until the breakdown in negotiations, the Carney government’s diplomatic posture towards the U.S. had been highly conciliatory. In May, Carney was calling for greater Canada-U.S. integration, arguing that “Canada Strong will help make America great again.” Article content Sunrise Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. Sign Up By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Article content Now, with trade talks exhausted and fresh economic pain on the way for both Canadians and Americans, conciliation appears to be a spent force. Instead, anger and escalation are taking centre stage. Article content Asked too much, offered too little Article content Nobody expected an equal deal between Canada and the U.S. Many of the trade deals struck by the second Trump administration have been deeply one-sided, with the U.S. typically imposing hefty tariffs and extracting commitments from the other party to purchase American goods. Article content Still, the sheer one-sidedness of the American proposals is galling. Canada would have had to accept hefty tariffs on automobile, steel, aluminum and lumber exports in return for market access it…