HUNTSVILLE, ONTARIO, CANADA – Prime Minister Mark Carney says he’ll update the premiers on the state of trade negotiations with the U.S. as they meet this morning in Ontario’s cottage country.
He says Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be in Washington, D.C., over the next few days and “we are only going to accept the best deal for Canada.”
The premiers are gathered to talk about eliminating internal trade barriers and U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose 35 per cent tariffs on a wide variety of Canadian goods on Aug. 1.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is again calling for Canada to match the U.S. tariffs “dollar for dollar,” saying strength is the one thing Trump understands.
He says the federal government needs to be ready to support industries hit hard by the trade war, and Canada needs to onshore production of things like aluminum cans and steel beams to avoid tariffs.
Ford, who chairs the Council of the Federation, says it’s refreshing for premiers to work with a prime minister who “has our backs.”
Carney also commended the premiers on the series of trade agreements they’ve signed to open up access to internal Canadian markets.
Earlier in the morning, Ford joined the premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan in announcing a new memorandum of understanding calling for the construction of new pipelines using Ontario steel.
The agreement also calls for new rail lines to be built to help ship critical minerals from yet-to-be approved mines in Ontario’s Ring of Fire region to Western Canada.
– with files from Sarah Ritchie in Ottawa
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2025.