Prime Minister Mark Carney ruled out using Canada’s oil exports as leverage against US tariffs, telling reporters in Alberta on Wednesday that protecting the country’s reputation as a reliable supplier matters more than any retaliatory advantage it might offer.
Carney made the comments during a stop in Red Deer, Alberta, when a reporter asked whether he would put energy on the negotiating table with Washington. “I don’t see the value of it,” he said, framing trust as Canada’s most valuable export and warning that any supplier needs to weigh the cost of cutting a customer off.
The remarks mark a retreat from the posture Carney struck a week earlier. After meeting with Canada’s 13 premiers in Charlottetown on July 23, he told reporters “everything is on the table”, including retaliation, if Ottawa and Washington couldn’t reach a deal before new tariffs take effect.
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That tougher talk followed President Trump’s move on July 20 to impose 50% tariffs on roughly US$20 billion worth of Canadian goods, covering everything from wine and hockey sticks to milk, beer, and plywood. Earlier rounds of US tariffs carved out an exemption for CUSMA-compliant goods. This one doesn’t, and it takes effect August 19.
Read: Trump Invokes 1930 Trade Law For 50% Tariffs On Canadian Goods
The new tariffs excluded oil and potash. Canadian oil supplies more than 60% of US crude imports, and provincial officials have flagged that dependence as a possible lever in the trade fight. Under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, officials studied export taxes on oil, uranium, and potash as a way to raise costs on the US side.
Carney has held this line before. In May, while signaling a new Alberta oil pipeline was “more likely than not,” he’d already ruled out putting oil, gas, or critical minerals on the table in trade talks with Washington.
Read: Carney Signals New Alberta Oil Pipeline As ‘More Likely Than Not’ Amid Global Energy Demand
Canada-US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and chief trade negotiator Janice Charette are in Washington this week, meeting with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and pushing to land an agreement before the tariffs take effect.
