Scott Bessent taunts Canada amid trade war: ‘What are they going to do, take their two submarines and sic them on us?’

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent took a snarky swipe Monday at Canada’s military preparedness after the trade war between the two neighbors deepened in recent days.

“Very unfortunate that PM [Mark] Carney has turned this into a political shouting match. I mean, we’re not at war with Canada,” Bessent told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”

“What are they going to do — take their two submarines from the Edmonton Mall and sic them on us?”

US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent speaks to reporters as he arrives for the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting on Monday, August 31, 2026. AFP via Getty Images

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks as Quebec Premier Christine Frechette, right, looks on. Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press via AP

Bessent, 64, added that Carney, 61, was “not doing what’s best for the Canadian people,” but was “doing what’s best for Mark Carney.”

“They were offered the best trade deal of anyone on the globe and he walked away from it at the last moment,” the treasury secretary told host Sara Eisen from Asheville, NC, the site of a G20 finance ministers meeting. .

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gestures as finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 countries meet in Asheville, North Carolina. REUTERS

On Aug. 22, the US imposed a steep 50% tariff on an estimated $28 billion of Canadian goods — including beer, cheese, and electronics — on top of existing duties on aluminum, lumber, vehicles, and steel.

Ottawa announced it would respond in kind, eventually imposing dollar-for-dollar tariffs to take effect Sept. 8, with Carney telling reporters Aug. 23 that his nation was “attacked” by the US.

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks with the news media on Saturday, August 22, 2026, in Ottawa, Ontario. REUTERS

“You’re at war when you get attacked. We got attacked,” the PM told reporters. “That’s fine. We’ve got the reserves. We’ve got the resilience. We’ve got the plan. We’ve got the focus. We will respond.”

Trump, in response, renamed Lake Ontario — which straddles the border between Canada and New York State — Lake America by executive order, while declaring the US’ northern neighbor “the worst to deal with on trade.”

Carney rejected the decree, stating that “things must be called by their name, and this lake is called Lake Ontario, today and forever.”