Statement: With New Tariffs Now in Force, Canada Must Act to Protect Workers and our Economy

Canada was right not to accept a bad deal in the face of the Trump administration’s latest tariff threats. The United States has now imposed new 50 per cent tariffs on over $28 billion worth of Canadian exports after negotiations failed to produce an acceptable agreement. By all accounts the Trump administration demanded further concessions at the last minute, including having a say on Canada’s signing of other trade agreements which is an unacceptable challenge to Canadian sovereignty. These tariffs are unjustified and will hurt workers, communities and industries on both sides of the border.

The federal government must support workers in affected industries through enhanced Employment Insurance, adjustment assistance, and retraining. Public procurement, infrastructure investment and industrial policy should also be used to protect the country’s productive capacity and good union jobs.

Canada should also use this moment to reduce its excessive dependence on the U.S. market. However, diversification must not mean rushing into new trade and investment agreements that privilege multinational corporations over workers, Indigenous rights, and the environment. With the gutting of the Online Streaming Act and reports that the Online News Act was on the table to be given up, future negotiations must have a plan to maintain and expand Canadian digital sovereignty. Maintaining ability to regulate the economy in the public interest should be an overarching goal of Canadian trade policy.

Going forward, Canada should reject Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) and other mechanisms that constrain a government’s ability to regulate industries to protect workers and the environment. New economic relationships must preserve Canada’s policy space for industrial development, environmental protection, strong labour standards, public services and public procurement. More countries have been questioning or rejecting ISDS in recent years, and Canada should join them. Prime Minister Carney believes that Canada should be a leading middle power and promoting a different and more egalitarian approach to international trade can be the cornerstone of that leadership.

Canada should continue seeking the removal of these tariffs, but negotiations must be based on mutual respect and equality, not intimidation and threats.

No deal is better than a bad deal. Canada must defend workers today while preserving the policy space we need for tomorrow.