Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed media on August 22, 2026 the day following cancellation of trade talks with US. [livestream]
Saturday August 22, 2026 | OTTAWA, ON [Posted at 1:58 pm PT]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
This is the morning after.
Last night Canada pulled the plug on a potential trade deal with the United states.
Today Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed media from Ottawa.
Carney made it clear that the US had pushed too far — that was already the case in many respects over the past year, but bringing in last-minute requests that would have tied Canada’s hands in trade and threatened this country’s sovereignty was the final straw that ended trade discussions last night.
Under no illusions:
Here are some key points made by Carney in his press conference today, expounding on his ‘having no illusions’:
“We’ve been under no illusions. We recognized from the start that America has changed. Steady integration of our economies is over.”
“The gap between partnership and competitor has remained too wide in recent days. We cannot accept what they’ve offered and we will not give what they’ve asked.”
“We’re masters of our destiny.”
“We’re stronger now than when the US started this trade war.”
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Tolerating the process:
It’s possible there’s a disconnect between what Carney says his government had “no illusions” about, and the actions (or pause-points) taken by Canada in the hopes of getting a good deal.
Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, March 27, 2026. [livestream]
Today Carney readily listed off the many things that Canada has tolerated from the United States over the past 18 months.
Canada’s Public Safety Minister David McGuinty and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew mingled after a drug lab demo by border officials in Manitoba, Feb 4, 2025. [livestream]
That list includes: responding to issues of fentanyl at the border, dropping the Digital Services Tax that would have brought US tech giants to heel, being asked to buy only US aircraft, backing down on immediately recouping on investment in a bridge between Canada and the US (Windsor/Detroit) that Canada paid for, putting up with US suspension of talks due to a TV commercial that quoted former US President Ronald Reagan, and hearing the US complain and wanting to charge for the impacts of wildfire smoke that made its way across borders.
Windsor-Detroit Bridge (aka Gordie Howe Bridge) will be open by the end of July 2026. [web]
Had Carney stood up more emphatically to any of those, would it have ‘poked the bear’ too much, who knows?
When asked today if what sounded like reported last-minute impositions by US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick (presumably on direction of the US president) on the potential deal was one of the deal breakers, Carney replied that the Canadian team was “unified” and “everyone was in the loop”… “but you cannot say that about the US administration”.
Looking forward:
“We’re being our own best customer,” said Carney today, looking back over how his government has worked over the past 18 months to diversify Canada’s economy.
“We’re on track and it’s working,” he said, being fully aware of the timeline. Some of the biggest payoffs of this transition will take time, he pointed out.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney signs trade agreement with Japan’s Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae in Tokyo, March 6, 2026. [livestream]
Carney described his government’s trade diversification work and support for various sectors these past 18 months as “a boost today and a bridge to that better tomorrow”.
“Canada has all the resources we need to pivot and to prosper,” the prime minister said today.
Plan A:
We take this step confident that it is in the best interest of Canada. And that by rejecting a bad deal, that by standing up for Canada by focussing on what we can control we will build Canada strong for all.
“Building at home and diversifying trade abroad is not our Plan B. It has been our Plan A from the start,” said Carney.
It’s working:
“Canada will continue to pursue this path to build Canada strong — because it’s right and because it’s working,” he said.
“We’re moving rapidly to build major infrastructure,” said Carney, noting that his government has so far referred 27 nation-building initiatives to the new Major Projects Office including new ports, mines and energy corridors in what he calls “every region of the country”.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announce pipeline project heading to Major Projects Office, July 2, 2026 in Calgary. [livestream]
That now represents $500 billion in new private investment for projects that will “help Canada build bigger, move faster and trade more with the world”, the prime minister said today.
Several of those projects are in BC, particularly that support the’ energy superpower’ goal that Carney has for Canada. The LNG project which is already shipping to Asian markets was highlighted by BC Premier David Eby in that regard today (in a later press conference at noon PT).
Carney no doubt continues to have his eye on the big prize for bolstering the Canadian economy, that being a national electricity grid.
Collaboration with premiers:
Carney said today that partnerships with the premier are crucial and “fundamentally important”.
Prime Minister Mark Carney at press conference with Canada’s Premiers on January 29, 2026 in Ottawa (shown in this photo, from left): PEI Premier Bloyce Thompson; Ontario Premier Doug Ford; NS Premier Tim Houston; Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew; and BC Premier David Eby. [livestream]
The reality is that Canada’s overall economy is really an assembly of regional economies. That’s been clear as to the range of concerns expressed by premiers over the past 18 months.
Premier David Eby and BC Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions was joined by federal Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson (right) on May 14, 2026 in Vancouver to announce progress toward a final investment decision at LNG2. [livestream]
Supporting businesses:
Carney said today that the federal government will provide support to businesses — including small and medium-size businesses.
Details will be issued “early next week”, said Carney, saying that will come “alongside tariff actions”/
Support of this nature was emphasized as coming “for as long as it takes” including “beyond the life of this US administration”.
Support will be done through regional development agencies and the Business Development Bank of Canada. That will include “a limited number of easy-to-use but effective programs”. The process will be worked through and they will “pivot as necessary”.
News and insights at IslandSocialTrends.ca .
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