Carney’s tariff problem isn’t Trump’s; it’s Canada’s

Trump just showed Canada what happens when a deal is built on a promise. The lesson is to build the leverage to be able to walk away.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump. Canada's economy is integrated with the U.S. in ways no other trading relationship can replace. Walking away from the table is not a realistic option, writes Bhagwant Sandhu.Official White House photograph by Daniel Torok

Opinion

BY BHAGWANT SANDHU

August 26, 2026

Most Canadians read the end of the Aug. 21 tariff talks as negotiations crumpling at the last minute. But Ottawa had already been shown, by United States President Donald Trump himself, what happens when a negotiation depends only on keeping your word.

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