Trump has lost control of his war with Canada 

November 3, 2026 — 11:59am

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Donald Trump has “the concept” of a trade deal with Canada. Canada has its own concept of a closer economic relationship with the European Union. Those “concepts” could produce even more trade friction.

The US president said at the weekend that, after speaking to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, there was a concept of a deal “that’s going to be great for our farmers, great for our country, and it will be fine for Canada”.

Carney referred on social media to “constructive” discussions on a “mutually beneficial” trade deal that would create jobs, improve affordability and “fully respect Canada’s languages, culture and sovereignty”.

The warmer tone from both leaders suggests a thawing of a relationship that fractured in September when trade talks broke down and Trump slapped new tariffs on about $US20 billion ($29 billion) of Canada’s exports to the United States.

Canada responded immediately with tariffs on a similar value of imports from the US, making it the only country other than China to stand up to Trump’s trade bullying.

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Since that tit-for-tat exchange, there has been some shift in the composition of the US tariffs, albeit not their value, as Trump lowered some and raised others to try to limit the damage they were doing to the Republican causes in border states with deep economic links with Canada, such as Michigan and Maine, which were trending Democrat in the lead-up to this week’s midterm elections.

The trade negotiations this year broke down at the eleventh hour after last-minute demands from the US negotiators – abolishing Canada’s French language local content rules and quotas, gaining exclusive access to Canadian minerals and restrictions on its ability to strike trade deals with other countries – caused........

© The Sydney Morning Herald