The collapse of US-Canada trade talks marks a new low between the two nations, with warnings of major economic and human impacts on both sides of national borders.

“Trump is going to be hitting American consumers with a new round of tax hikes just over two months before the election,” said one economist.

That’s how one Canadian journalist described overnight developments between the governments of the US and Canada after trade talks were suspended Friday night without a deal to avoid the 50 per cent tariffs President Donald Trump threatened on a wide swath of Canadian goods.

Both nations accused the other of scuttling the deal, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney citing “last-minute changes” by the Trump administration and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer pointing to “new demands and walkbacks” by the Canadians.

Asked earlier on Friday if a deal was within reach, Trump responded, “I think so, yeah, we’ll see.” But by late Friday night, it was clear the talks had collapsed entirely as Carney summoned Canada’s representatives back to Ottawa.

In his statement on Friday night, Carney said, “We have recognised from the beginning that America has changed, and that we will not return to our old relationship. Our government understood, before many, that America is altering all its trade relationships. Putting tariffs on its closest allies and charging for access to its vast market.”

The fresh American tariffs and the promise of Canadian counter-tariffs are a significant escalation in the dispute between Canada and the US, two countries once seen as being as close as can be on trade.Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc met with Greer, his American counterpart, throughout the week in Washington, DC, to try to secure a deal before the administration’s Friday night deadline.The terms of the tentative deal were not made public, but separate sources have said........

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