Commentary
Prime Minister Mark Carney has chosen suffering, but he did what Canadians elected him to do, says Stephen Marche for the New York Times.
Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Donald Trump hold a press conference at the White House in Washington, DC, Oct 7, 2025. (File photo: Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
26 Aug 2026 05:59AM
TORONTO: Aug 21 (Friday) may go down in history as Canada’s Liberation Day. It was the day America came for us, and we said no.The trade negotiations between the United States and Canada had been moving forward in the weeks after United States President Donald Trump first threatened 50 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods, but just before midnight, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the American proposal. “Last-minute changes in the US-proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic and called into question the reliability of any deal,” Mr Carney said in a statement. “Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses.”It was a decision made, seemingly, on the spur of the moment, but the deep history of this country paved the way for this one, critical gesture - a historic “no”.
