The outlook for Canada’s provinces is difficult to chart but some surprising resilience to U.S. trade pressures and historical revisions to economic data have most provinces on better footing heading into the 2026 budget season, argues a new analysis from Desjardins.

Randall Bartlett, deputy chief economist at Desjardins and one of the authors of the report published Tuesday, said a number of developments since even the provinces’ fall fiscal updates have shown what a fraught time it is for economists and policymakers alike.

“It is a much more difficult time to be doing forecasting for any economy, really,” he said.

British Columbia kicks off provincial budget season on Tuesday with Alberta on deck next week and other provinces expected to follow with their own fiscal updates in the coming months. The federal government shifted to a fall budget schedule last year, which it justified in part as a way to give provinces more clarity on Ottawa’s spending plans in advance.

Bartlett said at this time last year, the outlook for the provincial economies was “much worse than it is today” as U.S. President Donald Trump threatened waves of tariffs and Canada stared down an uncertain future.

Sharp tariffs have materialized on some sectors, weighing heavily on Ontario steel and automaking and Quebec’s aluminum industry, for example. But thanks to an exemption for goods compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement on trade, Trump’s blanket tariffs on Canada have not had as much of an impact on the economy as first feared, Bartlett said.

Also giving provincial economies a lift are recent historical revisions to gross domestic product published by Statistics Canada in November. Those updates, based on new information received by StatCan from the pandemic recovery era, raised previous estimates of GDP in 2022 and 2023 across the board.

2:15
Province keeps advisors amid budget crunch

Bartlett said the revisions helped to assuage some concerns about stagnating per capita GDP and productivity growth and put the provinces on better footing than first expected entering the trade war.

“Overall, the provinces, I think, economically have fared better than we had previously expected in our last provincial outlook,” he said.

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How a better-than-expected 2025 will set up the 2026 budgets will vary province to province as new risks have materialized since the fall.

Trade tensions with the United States are expected to reach a tipping point this year with the scheduled review of CUSMA now underway.

Central Canada remains most exposed to Trump’s tariffs, Bartlett said, highlighted by the U.S. president’s recent attempts to target Quebec’s aerospace industry. But he said British Columbia, Saskatchewan and most Atlantic provinces are better positioned with diversified trade portfolios.

Many of these provinces could see dividends from the federal government’s renewed diplomacy with China, which is expected to reduce tariffs on canola — a big boost for Saskatchewan in particular. Increased trade could also see increased exports head overseas from B.C. ports.

Reduced Chinese tariffs on seafood and peas should also improve the respective outlooks for the Maritime provinces and Manitoba, Bartlett said.

2:19
Ontario consumers could see higher alcohol prices in the new year

Regime change in Venezuela could threaten the fiscal picture of oil-producing provinces such as Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, Desjardins argued. Canadian producers could get less for their product if more heavy oil from Venezuela eventually makes its way up the U.S. Gulf Coast, the report said, which risks delaying investment in domestic production and lowering GDP in future years.

“That leads to reduced profitability for energy companies, which can lead to reduced production, reduced employment and also reduced revenues for the provincial government,” Bartlett said.

Despite the risks to Alberta, Bartlett noted the Wild Rose province comes into 2026 with perhaps the cleanest fiscal positions among the other provinces as it implements cost-cutting measures.

“I think there is an opportunity to find further savings for Alberta and ultimately position themselves well for when we get hopefully a more certain and less volatile regime for global energy prices,” he said.

Bartlett said each of the provinces took a different approach this time a year ago when accounting for the possible impact of Trump tariffs on their fiscal paths.

Despite the ongoing trade headwinds, Bartlett said Ontario and Quebec in particular baked a strong degree of “prudence” into their budgets last year and should see relatively rosier fiscal outlooks by comparison when they offer their updates in the coming weeks.

“We’re expecting some (provinces) to have underperformed or overperformed their Budget 2025 numbers when budget season’s over. But ultimately we’ll probably come around pretty close to where the budget numbers were in 2025, with the exception of maybe Alberta and some of the other energy producing provinces,” he said.

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The co-founder of a group that supports victims and their families after mass shootings says a top priority when bringing students back to school in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., is to make them feel safe again.

“No kid can learn in fear,” said Anita Busch, with the U.S.-based organization Victims First.

The British Columbia government has announced that a series of portable facilities will arrive throughout the week, so students at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School don’t have to learn in a place were six people were killed, five of them students.

A government statement says a date for the resumption of classes hasn’t been confirmed.

Chad Anderson, chair of the Peace River South school board, said in the statement that it would “use a compassionate, trauma-informed approach” to the resumption of classes.

Busch said her experience has shown that there will be fear around the return to school.

“Even going back to something that you can say is completely safe, it’s still going to be a lot of fear there.”

The B.C. government said 14 portables will begin arriving in Tumbler Ridge this week, and they’ll be placed on the grounds of the local elementary school.

“It is expected to take several days to set the units up for water and heating and to furnish them for returning students and staff, depending on weather conditions and other factors,” the statement said.

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Environment Canada posted a winter storm warning for the southern Peace region with up to 25 centimetres of snow by Tuesday and wind chills down to minus-40 through to Wednesday.

Busch, whose cousin was killed in the Aurora, Colo., theatre shooting and who has a family member who survived the Route 91 concert mass shooting in Las Vegas, said there should be counsellors available to support the students and teachers coming back.

“It’s all about putting the building blocks in place to make the kids and the educators feel safe,” she said.

“Whether it’s security, visible security, and also to have trauma counsellors there to help them.”

The government says counsellors will support staff and students in the safe transition to the new buildings and counselling will continue to be available afterward.

Busch said those at schools that have had shootings in the United States have made a variety of decisions on what to do with the buildings. Both Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida were demolished and rebuilt.

Those in charge of the Columbine High School site tore down the library where many of the victims were killed, and Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, was torn down and rebuilt at a different location.

Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, shot and killed her mother and half-brother at their home in Tumbler Ridge before going to the school and killing six people and then herself.

The current portables being moved to the elementary schools are single-wide, but the statement says double-wide trailers will be arriving in the coming weeks “and will serve Tumbler Ridge Secondary until community input, expert advice and future plans can be confirmed.”

Busch said the community should be involved in any decision around when and where to start school again.

“You have to talk to those directly impacted. You have to have an open forum that’s safe and let the voices rise and get input,” she said.

Any new school should be built with safety in mind and those measures need to be clearly visible so that students can see that the location is safer, she said.

Busch, who has assisted on 56 mass casualty events over 13 years, said people in Tumbler Ridge are still going to be fearful.

“Everything that people are feeling right now is a very normal reaction to an incredibly abnormal situation,” she said.

“So, not wanting to leave the house, being scared to go anywhere, having recurring thoughts (or) nightmares. This is what happens after a mass shooting. Don’t feel like you’re losing your mind. You’re not.”

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Ontario’s finance minister is expressing concerns about the rate of health-care spending in the province, calling the current $91.5-billion budget both “unprecedented” and “unsustainable.”

When Peter Bethlenfalvy addressed the Mississauga Board of Trade in January, he outlined some of the issues that appear to be weighing on his mind as he crafts the upcoming budget set to be delivered in late March.

“We’re in unprecedented territory in terms of the concerns of people. People are scared, they’re worried, they are concerned,” Bethlenfalvy said of the current geopolitical and economic climate fuelled, in part, by U.S. President Donald Trump.

At the same time, Bethlenfalvy warned that the province was facing a “big headwind, on top of the uncertainty” that threatens to squeeze Ontario even further.

“The economic environment is slowing down, there’s just no question,” the minister said. “We’re growing at the slowest rate we’ve grown post-COVID.”

Adding to the GDP concerns, the finance minister pointed out that “flattening” population growth is another factor his department is closely watching as it decides how to allocate billions in spending.

“Eighty-five per cent of the spending in the budget is actually for social spending. About 15 per cent is for infrastructure and the economy,” Bethlenfalvy explained.

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“We have a slowing population and a slowing economic growth and a trajectory of social spending that’s been, frankly, unprecedented. So we’re going to have to manage that challenge.”

Later, during a fireside chat, the minister put it more clearly: “Our health-care spending is unsustainable. We just have to deal with reality that we can’t keep spending, particularly when our population is flattening.”

The comments come at a time when hospitals warned the government they are facing a billion-dollar structural deficit and are now preparing for “difficult decisions” unless the Ford government increases health-care funding in its upcoming budget.

The Ontario Hospital Association said health-care costs have risen by six per cent a year, largely due to a growing and aging population and inflation, forcing health-care institutions to erode their capital and borrow money to stay afloat.

Rob Cerjanec, a Liberal MPP from Ajax, said the finance minister’s comments are “incredibly concerning,” especially for residents who want assurances that health care will be available when needed.

“When we hear a minister of finance talking about health-care spending being unsustainable, I mean that could be the difference between life or death for somebody,” Cerjanec said.

“We have great pride in our public health-care system. We need to strengthen our public health-care system.”

Recently, Ontario’s financial accountability officer revealed that the province was projecting a “significantly slower pace” of health-care spending in the next few years compared with the previous three.

The 2025 budget projected that health-care spending would grow by an average rate of 0.7 per cent between 2025 and 2028.

By contrast, the health-care budget grew by 6.6 per cent on average between 2021 and 2024.

“Over the 34-year period from 1990-91 to 2023-24, health sector spending grew at an average annual rate of 5.0 per cent,” the budget watchdog notes. “If the Province’s health sector spending plan in the 2025 budget is achieved, it would be the slowest three-year growth rate since 1993-94 to 1996-97.”

When Global News asked the finance minister whether his “unsustainable” remark meant he was considering cutting spending, Bethlenfalvy rejected the notion.

“We’re not going to cut health-care spending,” the finance minister said, before adding that his goal is to deliver health spending in an “efficient, effective and innovative way.”

Bethlenfalvy said that includes focusing on reducing surgical wait times, easing hallway health care and expanding access to family doctors.

The minister added that the use of artificial intelligence to help physicians take notes and using tracking devices on gurneys and wheelchairs are examples of innovation to free up resources and stretch precious health-care dollars.

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In early February, a joint operation by Alberta Sheriffs, Calgary Police Service and the provincial government conducted more thorough inspections of commercial vehicles at the Airdrie, Alta., vehicle inspection station north of Calgary.

Insp. BJ Bjornson with Alberta Sheriffs says plenty of vehicles were dealt with.

“We had 20 of the 23 vehicles not pass the actual inspection qualification process,” explained Bjornson. “Five of which were able to (be) fixed locally on site, whereas the other 15 weren’t able to be fixed locally and had to remain on site, and placed permanently out of service until that could be removed in a safer manner.”

Alberta Sheriffs operate more than 40 vehicle inspection stations and mobile inspection stations across the province. On any given day, officers perform upwards of 40 commercial inspections each day for a total of more than 15,000 taking place in 2025, resulting in more than 4,000 vehicles being removed from Alberta roadways.

“We actually have two levels of inspections we’re looking for. Our level two inspection would qualify as similar to what a driver would do for their inspection,” Bjornson noted.

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“On that specific day we conducted a level one inspection where we do that preliminary inspection on the outside of the vehicle, but then we get underneath the vehicle and we start looking at the components.”

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Alberta Sheriffs Police Service aims to decrease rural wait times

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When issues are found, Alberta Sheriffs primarily focus on education, but can escalate if necessary.

“Depending on what the infraction is, or the deviation or defect that we find, it could be anything from a fine that is nominal in nature, or it could be anything up to a long duration to have that vehicle seized,” said Bjornson.

“That impacts the drivers, that impacts the carriers, which is why we focus more on the collaborative approach with our industry partners.”

At Heavy Wrenching Diesel, co-owner Joseph Saoud tells Global News choosing not to stay on top of servicing their equipment can result in serious repercussions.

“When the truck is not operating, they’re losing money. The guys who are set up for success are doing preventative maintenance rather than waiting for it to blow,” Saoud remarked.

“These are killing machines if they’re not being paid attention to.”

And it’s not just the drivers or carriers that can face consequences.

“If there’s any proof that a shop has recently looked at it, and allowed it to leave, or worse yet passed the safety inspection with that damage? They will come here and fine us, remove licensing,” said Saoud.

“So there are consequences to bending the rules.”

Saoud says he’s heard of potential bad actors within the industry, but says the province is good at nipping problems in the bud before the grow into an issue.

“I don’t know how they get away with it, but they do,” notes Saoud. “But they don’t last long, it’s just dangerous while they’re in operation, and DOT (Department of Transportation) does a pretty good job of finding them and catching them.”

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U.S. President Donald Trump called Canada “among the worst in the World to deal with” as the U.S. House of Representatives voted against his tariffs on America’s northern neighbour — a largely symbolic move that shows some wavering Republican support for the president’s massive trade agenda.

“Canada has taken advantage of the United States on Trade for many years. They are among the worst in the World to deal with, especially as it relates to our Northern Border,” Trump posted on social media Wednesday night as results of the vote became clear. “TARIFFS make a WIN for us, EASY. Republicans must keep it that way!”

Six Republicans joined Democrats in a bipartisan push against Trump’s so-called fentanyl emergency at the U.S.-Canada border, which the president used as justification for economywide tariffs against America’s northern neighbour last year.

While Wednesday’s motion passed, it did not get the two-thirds majority it would need to become veto-proof. When it lands on Trump’s desk, it is expected to be shut down.

Canada is also being hammered by separate sector-specific tariffs on industries like steel, aluminum, automobiles and lumber that Trump enacted through a different presidential power.

The bipartisan support does demonstrate Republican uncertainty around Trump’s erratic trade policies directed towards Canada.

Democrat Rep. Gregory Meeks, who introduced the bill, said Canada isn’t a threat.

“Canada is our friend. Canada is our ally,” Meeks said. “Canadians have fought alongside Americans.”

1:08
Bessent asked if U.S. would drop all tariffs if Canada did the same: ‘Absolutely not’

Trump declared the emergency in order to use the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, also called IEEPA, to hit Canada with 35 per cent tariffs. Those duties do not apply to goods compliant under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, known as CUSMA.

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Meeks said U.S. government data shows a minuscule amount of fentanyl is seized at the northern border compared to the border with Mexico.

In response to Trump’s stated concerns about fentanyl, Ottawa boosted border security measures, with more boots on the ground and drones in the air. Canadian police forces have widely promoted drug seizures in news releases.

During debate in the House earlier Wednesday, Brian Mast, a Republican from Florida, pointed to those drug seizures in Canada and Ottawa’s appointment of a “fentanyl czar” as evidence the problem is real. He also said Canada hasn’t done enough to crack down on drugs.

“Democrats don’t recognize that there is a crisis that it is killing thousands of Americans,” Mast said.

The Senate has voted repeatedly to overturn the fentanyl duties but a procedural rule allowed the House to avoid any votes on Trump’s tariff agenda. That ended Tuesday, when three Republicans joined Democrats to stop the extension of the procedural rule.

While the U.S. Constitution reserves power over taxation and tariffs for Congress, Trump’s duties have so far faced little public resistance from Republican lawmakers, despite concerns shared behind closed doors among traditional GOP free-traders.

“Any Republican, in the House or the Senate, that votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries!” Trump wrote in a separate Truth Social post Wednesday.

“TARIFFS have given us Economic and National Security, and no Republican should be responsible for destroying this privilege.”

IEEPA has become Trump’s favourite tool to impose or threaten tariffs — but its future is uncertain.

The U.S. Supreme Court is still weighing whether Trump can continue using IEEPA. The conservative-led U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical during a hearing on IEEPA in November.

Rep. Adrian Smith, a Republican for Nebraska, said Wednesday’s vote should be delayed until after America’s top court rules on the IEEPA tool. He said Canada is a friend but Trump’s use of duties has pushed Ottawa to have difficult conversations about trade irritants. He cited the example of the digital services tax, which Prime Minister Mark Carney paused to appease the president last year.

Trump’s inconsistent use of tariffs and his claims that Canada should become a U.S. state are hurting American businesses, multiple Democrats told the House. Many also pointed to the president’s Monday social media post threatening to stall the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Ontario to Michigan.

2:15
Why is Trump threatening to block the Gordie Howe bridge from opening?

Representatives from Nevada spoke about the drop in tourism and others from Oregon said Canadian alcohol boycotts were devastating the wine industry.

Rep. Linda Sanchez, a Democrat for California, said claims that Canada is a fentanyl threat are not borne out by facts. She pointed out that CUSMA was negotiated during the first Trump administration and ratified by Congress.

Responsible governments follow the law on trade agreements and don’t negotiate through weird social media tantrums, she said.

“It’s just reckless and frankly, it’s bizarre.”

Trump’s post about Canada was the only comment he made Wednesday about the country, which was grieving Tuesday’s mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. that killed eight people and injured about 25 others.

Other world leaders, as well as U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra, have offered condolences to Canada and Tumbler Ridge in the wake of the tragedy.

—With additional files from Global News

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Ontario’s financial watchdog says the province is not currently on a path to balance as spending ticks up and revenue from taxation begins to fall in the face of a cost-of-living crisis.

The Financial Accountability Officer of Ontario found that the provincial government’s budget deficit will increase to $11.1 billion in the 2025-26 year, an increase from the previous year.

The annual deficit will improve to $11.18 billion in the 2026-27 year and slowly improve. While the picture will get better, the FAO found there will still be a deficit of $6.3 billion for the 2029-30 year.

Part of the issue, the watchdog suggests, is that the province’s revenue will fall far below previous years.

The average increase in revenue over the past five years has been 7.6 per cent, according to the FAO. Over the next half-decade, that will drop to an average increase of 2.6 per cent.

“The slowdown in revenue growth reflects the FAO’s expected moderation in economic activity compared to the previous five years,” the report read.

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“Revenue growth over the outlook is also constrained by declines in interest and investment income and international student tuition revenue in the colleges sector.”

2:25
Ontario deficit to explode next year, budget watchdog projects

Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy released figures Tuesday projecting the 2025-26 deficit will be $13.4 billion, higher than the FAO’s suggestion.

He refused to “speculate” on the figures in the upcoming budget when asked if he was still confident Ontario was on a path to balance.

“Ontario continues to navigate a period of global economic and geopolitical uncertainty,” he told reporters. “And in spite of this uncertainty, Ontario’s economy proved to be resilient and continued to grow in 2025.”

The FAO’s report projects employment will increase, with job losses in tariff-hit industries offset by other gains.

“Annual employment growth is projected to slow to 0.3 per cent in 2026 and then improve to 0.9 per cent in 2027 as Ontario’s labour market adjusts to a new global trade environment,” the report said.

“The annual unemployment rate is projected to improve to 7.6 per cent in 2026 and continue to trend down over the remainder of the outlook.”

Ontario NDP MPP Jessica Bell said the government couldn’t hide from the overall unemployment numbers.

“No amount of spin from Minister Bethlenfalvy can hide these staggering unemployment numbers and a record-high provincial debt,” she said in a statement.

“We need a plan that brings significant investments into infrastructure and public services — from schools to hospitals — to strengthen Ontario’s economy and create good jobs.”

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U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he will block the opening of a new bridge and trade route connecting Ontario and Michigan until the United States is “compensated for everything we have given” Canada.

In a lengthy post on his Truth Social website, Trump called for immediate negotiations over the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit, Mich., that he said would seek U.S. ownership of “at least one half of this asset.”

He cited Ottawa’s recent trade agreement with China, Canadian tariff quotas for American dairy products, and Ontario’s ban on U.S. alcohol among his irritants with Canada, and that the bridge is the latest example of Canada treating the U.S. “very unfairly for decades.”

“Canada is building a massive bridge between Ontario and Michigan. They own both the Canada and the United States side and, of course, built it with virtually no U.S. content,” Trump wrote. “President Barack Hussein Obama stupidly gave them a waiver so they could get around the BUY AMERICAN Act, and not use any American products, including our Steel.

“Now, the Canadian Government expects me, as President of the United States, to PERMIT them to just ‘take advantage of America!’ What does the United States of America get — Absolutely NOTHING!”

He later continued: “I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them, and also, importantly, Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve.

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“We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY. With all that we have given them, we should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset. The revenues generated because of the U.S. Market will be astronomical.”

The Windsor–Detroit Bridge Authority, the Canadian Crown corporation responsible for overseeing the bridge’s construction, said Friday that “major construction” is complete and testing work is underway leading up to this year’s opening.

5:23
Canada’s newest border crossing links Windsor and Detroit

The bridge will serve as a new crossing within the busy Ontario-Michigan trade corridor and aims to ease traffic on the nearby Ambassador Bridge.

The Canadian government says it is funding the entire project, which will be publicly owned by both Canada and Michigan.

About a third of all trade between the U.S. and Canada occurs between Detroit and Windsor.

Trump’s post is the latest sign of souring relations with Canada since Prime Minister Mark Carney’s widely viewed and praised speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Carney in that speech warned of a “rupture” to the U.S.-led international rules-based order and urged countries to band together to withstand pressure from great powers, a reference to Trump’s global trade wars and attacks on allies.

In response, Trump told the same gathering of political and business leaders that “Canada lives because of the United States” and warned Carney to “remember that.”

Trump has since criticized Canada for reaching a deal with China that eases tariffs on each country’s goods and will allow a certain amount of Chinese EVs to be sold into Canada.

His post Monday repeated his claim that China will “eat Canada alive,” adding the U.S. will “just get the leftovers.”

“The first thing China will do is terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada, and permanently eliminate The Stanley Cup,” Trump added.

Carney has repeatedly said his government is not pursuing free trade with China as Trump has claimed, but rather seeking a “strategic partnership” that allows for limited economic cooperation.

The strained relationship comes ahead of this summer’s scheduled review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on free trade.

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The Opposition Conservatives are calling on the federal Liberal government to reduce taxes on severance packages for laid-off General Motors workers in Ingersoll, Ont.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre penned a letter Sunday, co-signed by labour critic Kyle Seeback and local MP Arpan Khanna, addressed to Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne calling for an exemption to the withholding taxes that ding severance pay.

In a draft version of the letter seen by The Canadian Press, the Conservatives argue taxes on a big chunk of GM’s lump-sum severance payments could deprive out-of-work employees of “tens of thousands of dollars,” adding “insult to injury.”

The federal Tories said waiting until after tax season to recover funds is not a reasonable solution for workers who recently lost their regular paycheques and still need money for their mortgages and grocery bills.

“These men and women worked hard, played by the rules and built things this country depends on. The least your government can do is stop taking their money at the worst possible moment,” the letter said.

“That is why I am asking you to use your existing authority to reduce the amount of tax withheld on these payments for workers affected by the GM CAMI layoffs.”

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The letter comes just ahead of the start of tax-filing season and days after Carney unveiled his new strategy for the automotive sector.

GM announced last year it would end its BrightDrop electric-vehicle production at the CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll, citing weaker-than-expected market demand and a challenging regulatory environment in the U.S.

More than a thousand employees have been laid off.

3:35
Canada and Korea sign MOU on auto manufacturing

Meanwhile, GM’s Oshawa Assembly is shuttering one of three shifts, laying off some 500 employees in a move expected to affect upward of a thousand workers across the supply chain.

Unifor, the union representing the GM employees, has accused U.S. President Donald Trump of upending Ontario’s auto sector and hitting the Ingersoll GM plant on multiple fronts. Trump introduced 25 per cent tariffs on non-U.S. auto content and policies that upended the U.S. EV industry.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a new automotive industrial strategy last Thursday, which he vowed would “drive investment” in the sector and set a “sovereign path” to reduce auto emissions.

The strategy would remove the EV sales mandate in exchange for stricter auto-emissions standards and re-introduce the EV rebate program.

It comes on the heels of a deal the prime minister made in Beijing, granting a set quota of Chinese EVs into the country at a minimal tariff rate. Carney has also said Ottawa has been in talks with Korean and Chinese investors interested in Canada’s auto sector.

The Conservatives dismissed Carney’s new auto strategy in their letter for being unhelpful to auto-sector workers who have been left reeling as their industry buckles.

“Canadians are still waiting for your government to deliver the trade deal with the United States you promised by July 21 (2025) and a clear plan to protect Canadian jobs,” the Conservative MPs wrote.

“Instead of presenting a serious plan to defend our auto workers, you’ve just announced a rebate that will subsidize American-made EVs.”

Canada is entering into talks this year over renewing the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, as the free-trade pact comes up for review among the signatories.

Carney said Thursday his objective remains getting all tariffs removed, but that is clearly not Trump’s objective, so Canada must “prepare for all possibilities.”

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press