Prime Minister Mark Carney declared that the long-standing partnership between Canada and the United States “is over.”
“The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over,” he said in a press conference.
His remarks followed US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 25% tariff on imported vehicles and vehicle parts, a policy the president described as “permanent.”
Carney stressed that Canadians must “fundamentally reimagine our economy” in light of the escalating trade dispute. He indicated that the Automotive Products Agreement from 1965, which he called “the most important deal” of his lifetime, is finished.
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He added that Canada will impose its own retaliatory measures designed to have “maximum impact” on the US, underlining that the country can still maintain a domestic auto industry if it “reimagines” and “retools” the sector.
Tensions escalated when Trump warned Canada and the EU against “working together” to undermine American interests, posting on his Truth Social platform that “large scale Tariffs, far larger than currently planned, will be placed on them both” if they joined forces. In response, Canada has already announced about $60 billion worth of tariffs on US goods, and further measures could follow.
Pierre Poilievre, leader of the opposition Conservatives, labeled the tariffs “unjustified and unprovoked,” while Jagmeet Singh of the New Democratic Party criticized the US move as an “illegal trade war.”
The US, which imported roughly eight million cars last year at a value of $240 billion, sources vehicles primarily from Mexico, South Korea, Japan, Canada, and Germany. While Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum did not directly address the White House’s newest measures, she pledged that her government would “always defend Mexico,” suggesting a comprehensive response to the US administration’s actions by April 3.
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