‘This is a Tragedy’: Canadian PM Declares Era of Global Free Trade Led By The U.S. Is ‘Over’
Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney declared the era of free trade “anchored on the United States” to be “over” during a fiery speech on Thursday in response to President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, announced on Wednesday.
“The global economy is fundamentally different today than it was yesterday. The system of global trade anchored on the United States that Canada has relied on since the end of the Second World War, a system that, while not perfect, has helped to deliver prosperity for our country for decades, is over,” Carney said at one point during his remarks, adding:
Our old relationship of steadily deepening integration with the United States, the 80-year period when the United States embraced the mantle of global economic leadership, when it forged alliances rooted in trust and mutual respect, and championed the free and open exchange of goods and services. While this is a tragedy, it is also the new reality. We must respond with both purpose and force. We are a free, sovereign, and ambitious country. We are masters in our own home.
Carney, an economist and former governor of the Bank of Canada, also announced Canada would match Trump’s 25% tariff on auto imports, slapping a 25% hike on all U.S.-made cars sold in Canada.
“The ambition of these measures is enormous. The effects on the global economy will be monumental. We received confirmation that the latest reciprocal tariffs will not be imposed on Canada. At the same time, President Trump confirmed that the tariffs announced last week against our auto industry will come in and indeed have come into effect today,” Carney said, adding:
So while it’s progress that further tariffs were not imposed on Canada yesterday, the president’s actions will reverberate here in Canada and across the world. Three sets, three different sets of US tariffs remain in place and will continue to pose significant threats to Canadian workers and Canadian businesses. And while they have been imposed under different premises. Some things are consistent. They are all unjustified, unwarranted, and in our judgment, misguided.
On X, Carney also announced that Canada would seek to deepen ties with “reliable” trading partners like Germany as it turned away from the U.S. – its largest trading partner.
Watch the clip above via C-SPAN.
