OTTAWA: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday that a “long, mutually beneficial economic and security relationship” with the United States was now over, warning the nation that tough times lay ahead.

Canada will wait until next week to strike back against the latest US threat of tariffs and nothing is off the table regarding possible countermeasures, Prime Minister Mark Carney said.

“We will fight the US tariffs with retaliatory trade actions of our own that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impact here in Canada,” he told a press conference.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney had a conversation on Friday that both sides described as productive, although the Canadian leader said Ottawa would be imposing retaliatory tariffs next week, as promised.

President Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney have a phone conversation, which both leaders describe as productive

The phone call was the first contact since Carney won the leadership of Canada’s ruling Liberals on March 9. “It was an extremely productive call, we agreed on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canada’s upcoming election to work on elements of politics, business, and all other factors,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

That work “will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada”, he added. Carney vowed on Thursday to transform Canada’s economy to be less dependent on the United States.

Trump’s tariff announcement is expected on April 2. Ottawa has made clear for months that it will impose countermeasures.

“The (Canadian) prime minister informed the (US) president that his government will implement retaliatory tariffs to protect Canadian workers and our economy, following the announcement of additional US trade actions on April 2,” Carney’s office said in a statement.

The United States and its northern neighbour have long been close allies and trading partners. But relations deteriorated after Trump, a Republican who took office in January, upended the relationship with tariff threats and repeated comments about annexing the country.

A trade war would be extremely damaging for Canada, which sends 75 per cent of its exports to the United States.

Trump referred to Carney as the Canadian prime minister rather than as the governor of the 51st US state, the term he often used to describe former prime minister Justin Trudeau. Carney said the two leaders had agreed to begin comprehensive negotiations about a new economic and security relationship immediately after elections on April 28.

Carney is calling on voters to give his Liberal Party a strong mandate to deal with Trump. Recent polls indicate he will win a comprehensive victory.

“When President Trump threatens us again, we will fight back ... with everything we have to get the best deal for Canada.”

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2025