Mark Carney is now describing the Canada-U.S. trade dispute as an economic war. Speaking Saturday on Parliament Hill, he said:

“It is evident it is a new attack by the Americans on Canada. So, it is an attack in a war. It’s not a good choice. We want a global accord between the two countries.”

Carney repeated the same line, underscoring Ottawa’s view that the breakdown in negotiations marks a sharp escalation.

As Cryptopolitan previously reported, Trump has imposed a 50% tariff on $20 billion of Canadian goods, and Canada is preparing to respond dollar for dollar.

The stakes reach well beyond that targeted slice of commerce. The United States is by far Canada’s largest trading partner and takes roughly three-quarters of Canadian exports, while Canada ranks among the top export markets for U.S. goods. Supply chains on both sides of the border were built around duty-free trade under the Canada–U.S. Free Trade Agreement signed in 1988 and its successor, NAFTA.

Carney appeared alongside Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and chief negotiator Janice Charette as he explained Ottawa’s version of how the talks fell apart. He said the Canadian team “worked intensively and in good faith with the United States to negotiate a new comprehensive trade deal.”

According to Carney, Canada walked away only after Washington introduced terms it would not accept. “We cannot accept what they offered, and we will not give what they’ve asked,” he said.

Trump’s tariff deadline passed after both sides accused each other of changing the deal

Trump’s tariffs had been scheduled to take effect at midnight on August 19. He then delayed the deadline by three days and posted online that the extension was “based on the fact that Canada and the U.S.A., subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL!”

That deal never materialized.

The impasse leaves the two neighbors without a new arrangement even as the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement — the pact that took effect in 2020 and governs most North American trade — remains in force, with a joint review already scheduled for 2026.

For several days, the negotiations had appeared close to completion. At one point, both sides were described as being “very close.” But the talks unraveled as they were nearing the finish line, and Carney sent the Canadian team home on Friday evening.

Carney said Washington added new conditions at the last minute. One involved excluding medium and heavy-duty trucks from the tariff relief under discussion. He said other American proposals were “uneconomic, unfair and undermined the net benefits to Canada, calling into question the reliability of any deal.”

The U.S. gave a different account. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer accused Canada of introducing “new demands and walkbacks of other commitments” during a Friday night call with reporters.

Carney rejected that version of events. He said Canada did not abruptly rewrite its position or undermine the agreement.

The response is now shifting from negotiations to tariffs. Canada plans to match the American measures dollar for dollar, with targets including U.S. steel, dairy products, appliances, agricultural machinery, pulp and paper, and electronics. The target list spans agriculture, forestry, heavy industry, and consumer goods manufacturing. Carney said the full package would be announced within days and would take effect on September 8.

Carney brings a long background in central banking, finance, and global institutions

Carney is not a career trade lawyer who later moved into politics. He was born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. He studied economics before entering finance.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 1987, completed a master’s degree at Oxford in 1993, and received a doctorate there in 1995.

Carney worked at Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) before joining the Bank of Canada as deputy governor in 2003. A year later, he moved to Canada’s Department of Finance as a senior associate deputy minister. By 2008, he was leading the Bank of Canada.

His tenure began as the global financial crisis was straining credit markets, banks, currencies, employment, and public finances. He remained governor until 2013 and oversaw Canadian monetary policy through that period.

In 2011, he also became the second chair of the Financial Stability Board, the international body focused on risks in the global financial system. He served two terms and remained chair until 2018.

Carney then moved to the United Kingdom, becoming the 120th governor of the Bank of England in 2013 and the first person without British citizenship to hold the post. He remained there until 2020. His term included the financial fallout from Brexit and the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After leaving the Bank of England, Carney split time between public policy and finance. He chaired Bloomberg L.P., served as vice-chair of Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM), and became co-chair of the World Bank’s private-sector investment lab. Starting in 2020, he also served as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance.

When former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation in January 2025, he nominated Carney. Carney entered the Liberal leadership race, won by a landslide on March 9, and five days later became prime minister despite never having held elected office before.

Weeks later he called an early federal election and led the Liberals to a minority government in the April 28 vote, winning his own seat in the process, in a campaign shaped in large part by the tariff confrontation with Washington.

Since then, the government has abolished the federal consumer carbon tax, passed the One Canadian Economy Act in response to the trade war launched by the Americans, and established the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit.

Ottawa has also increased defense spending, formally recognized the State of Palestine, improved relations with China and India, and continued Canadian support for Ukraine.