OTTAWA - U.S. President Donald Trump ended another week of escalating trade tensions with Canada by threatening new tariffs over wildfire smoke drifting south of the border. In a social media post Saturday, Trump shared an image depicting the Canada-U.S. border separated by an oversized air filter, following remarks the previous day in which he suggested tariffs could be used to pressure Canada over the smoke. “We’re going to put a big tariff on Canada because of the smoke,” Trump said Friday. “I’ve told Canada they have to do something about it. We’ve never had this problem. All of a sudden we have this problem with Canada.” The comments capped a week marked by renewed trade pressure from Washington. Earlier this week, the U.S. administration announced plans to impose 50-per-cent tariffs on a broad range of Canadian goods in response to provinces removing U.S. alcohol from store shelves and Canada’s supply-managed dairy system. The tariffs are scheduled to take effect Aug. 19 unless the two countries can agree otherwise. Eric Ham, CTV News U.S. political analyst, said Trump’s continued attacks on Canada are increasingly out of step with public opinion. “People are simply not aligned with the president continuing to rail against Canada, continuing to attack the country and also continuing to shape this narrative that somehow Canada has been unfair to the United States,” Ham said. Some trade experts believe the latest threats could signal negotiations between Canada and the United States are entering a more intense phase. Stuart Trew, an international trade policy researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said the increasing rhetoric suggests Canada’s turn at the negotiating table could be approaching. “From the ratcheting up of these tariffs, you get a sense that there’s a reason they’re going to do that,” Trew said. “Mexico is done, almost. They’re meeting again in September. It’s Canada’s turn to talk to the Americans about whatever it is they want to talk about.” As unofficial trade talks with Washington continue, the federal government has also been pursuing new international trade partners. This week, Ottawa quietly signed a free trade agreement with Ecuador and concluded negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the United Arab Emirates, moves the government has framed as part of a broader strategy to diversify Canada’s trade relationships. “If Donald Trump is going to continue to place a blanket of uncertainty over trade with Canada, then Canada is going to go find partners, investments, and dollars elsewhere,” said CTV News political commentator Scott Reid, who served as a senior advisor and director of communications to former Prime Minister Paul Martin. However, some analysts have questioned whether the agreements will meaningfully reduce Canada’s reliance on the U.S. market. “They don’t achieve the diversification that the Carney government has been saying they need,” Trew said. “They also raise deeply disturbing questions about the kinds of government we’re willing to work with.” The Carney government now faces mounting pressure to either secure an agreement with the United States before the planned Aug. 19 tariffs take effect or determine how Canada will respond if the measures proceed.
