Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, is urging Mr. Carney to place export taxes on oil, gas and electricity, as well as critical minerals. Energy is, by far, the largest Canadian export to the United States.
Weren’t things already tense?
Yes. Since Mr. Trump began his second term, relations between the United States and Canada have been strained.
Not only has Mr. Trump targeted Canada with tariffs, he has insulted its leaders, suggested the border is an arbitrary line, and repeatedly proposed the nation be annexed as the 51st state. He said he was willing to inflict “economic pain” on Canada to get what he wanted, and recently said the country only “lives because of the United States.”
In a speech in Davos, Switzerland, in January, Mr. Carney said that the United States was no longer a guarantor of stability, and that middle powers like Canada must unite to survive. The speech, and its enthusiastic global reception, angered Mr. Trump.
Also, on July 1, Canada’s national holiday, the Trump administration declined to renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade for another 16 years. That means the agreement will now undergo annual reviews.
Asked how the new U.S. tariffs will affect the agreement’s continued renewal, Mr. Carney said, in French, that “it certainly isn’t good news.”