Canada to impose retaliatory tariffs on United States as trade talks collapse

By  News On Air   Aug 23, 2026

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canada will match the United States’ new tariffs dollar-for-dollar to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families and businesses, after trade negotiations between the two countries collapsed. 

In a social media post, Carney said, For over a year, Canada has worked intensively and in good faith with the United States to negotiate a new comprehensive trade deal.

Carney further said he had instructed Canadian negotiators to return to Ottawa after over a year of discussions with Washington, adding that Canada could not accept the offer made by the United States. 

The Canadian Prime Minister added that Ottawa would announce details of its retaliatory tariff measures in the coming days. The new measures will come into force on the Tuesday after Labour Day.

The development came after trade negotiations between Washington and Ottawa broke down late Friday night, with the United States imposing a 50 per cent tariff on nearly 28 billion US dollars worth of Canadian imports. 

Carney described Washington’s last-minute demands as unfair and uneconomic, saying they raised questions over the reliability of any potential agreement. He said Canada had made significant progress in recent weeks during the negotiations, but the outcome did not meet Ottawa’s objectives.

Carney said the Canadian government would introduce additional measures to support workers and businesses.