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Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canadian trade negotiators are focusing talks with their U.S. counterparts on “all strategic sectors,” including autos, as the deadline for U.S. President Donald Trump’s next round of tariffs is just weeks away.
During a housing-related announcement in Toronto on Wednesday, Carney highlighted his desire for “all 232s to be addressed.”
Section 232 is the legislation that Trump has used to impose the bulk of his tariffs targeting sectors that include aluminum, steel and auto parts. The law gives the U.S. president the authority to impose tariffs to protect American industries on the basis of a threat to national security identified by a U.S. Commerce Department investigation.
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and chief trade negotiator Janice Charette are back in Washington this week for more meetings.
Carney said he’s been “very involved” in those talks.
WATCH | Caney on state of trade negotiations:
Carney says he’s ‘very involved’ in U.S. trade negotiations as tariff deadline approaches
Asked by a reporter how likely it is that he will be able to fend off U.S. President Donald Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs set to come into effect on Aug. 19, Prime Minister Mark Carney said ‘we’ll see.’
The Globe and Mail reported, citing multiple sources, that the two nations were discussing steel and aluminum export quotas as a way to lower U.S. tariffs on those sectors.
However, two government sources told CBC News on Wednesday that does not represent the current state of negotiations. The sources spoke confidentially due to the sensitive nature of the talks.
On Tuesday, LeBlanc and Charette met with Jay Timmons, CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers. LeBlanc also met Wednesday morning with Kevin Cramer, Republican senator from North Dakota, and with Tennessee Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty.
It remains unclear whether LeBlanc will meet again with his counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The two met last week in Washington for discussions that LeBlanc described as “comprehensive.”
“We have time, and we have real constructive negotiations that are happening on a number of issues,” Carney said.
“We’ve been very clear, we want all 232s to be addressed. All strategic sectors to be addressed.”
The prime minister’s comments come ahead of an Aug. 19 deadline, at which point the U.S. plans to put 50 per cent tariffs on about five per cent of Canadian exports to the country. The targeted goods range from alcohol to hockey sticks to cement.
Greer has previously justified the potential tariffs as part of a broader strategy aimed at reducing the U.S. trade deficit.
WATCH | Charest says ongoing talks are ‘a good sign’:
Should Canada’s trade negotiators change tack?
Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday that now is not the time to change course in tariff negotiations. His comments come as the minister responsible for U.S. trade, Dominic LeBlanc, is back in Washington to resume trade talks with numerous American politicians and stakeholders. Power & Politics hears from member of the Advisory Committee on Canada-U.S. Economic Relations Jean Charest.
The country’s trade deficit, which hit $1.2 trillion US in 2025, is a “national emergency,” Greer told a U.S. Senate finance committee hearing last month.
Carney characterized Canada’s response to the potential tariffs as “the time to get tougher,” something he said could happen in the days leading up to the deadline.
Last month, Carney said he’d spoken with Trump and the two leaders agreed to ramp up trade discussions.
Former Quebec premier Jean Charest, who serves on Carney’s Advisory Committee on Canada–U.S. Economic Relations, shed light on that phone call in an interview with CBC’s Power and Politics, saying it resulted in wider engagement from the U.S. administration in the latest round of talks.
“It’s a good sign that the whole of the administration is more engaged in these negotiations than they were before that phone call,” he told guest host Katie Simpson.
Carney, however, has not ruled out retaliation if the additional tariffs come to fruition. But last week said he doesn’t see the “value” in using Canadian energy exports as a bargaining chip in negotiations.
Canada has already addressed multiple trade irritants listed by the Trump administration, including killing a planned digital services tax and rolling back a Canadian content levy on streaming companies — moves that appear to have done little to move the needle with the U.S.
Last month, Greer acknowledged that Canada had rolled back two major trade irritants, but with a caveat.
“I’m glad they did that but they don’t really get credit for doing something bad and then undoing it,” Greer said.
