Carney warns Canada must reduce reliance on U.S. trade, amid tariff threats

Mark Carney used a 10-minute video to recast Canada’s trade dependence on the United States as a strategic liability, saying ties that were once a strength had become a weakness that Ottawa must correct. He said Washington had “fundamentally changed its approach to trade,” with tariffs back at levels not seen since the Great Depression, while workers in Canada’s auto, steel and lumber industries remained under threat.

The message was more than a warning. Carney said he would give Canadians regular updates on the government’s plan to diversify trade and strengthen the economy, signaling that his Liberal government is preparing to make market access and industrial resilience central to its agenda. Canada sends almost 70% of its exports to the United States, making the country unusually exposed to Donald Trump’s tariff campaign and to the broader uncertainty surrounding North American trade.

The timing sharpened the stakes. The video came just days after U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick criticized Canada’s trade strategy and after trade talks in Washington earlier in April. A review of the CUSMA, or USMCA, free trade agreement is scheduled for July, putting Ottawa under pressure to show it has a plan beyond defending the status quo. Carney’s pitch was that Canada can no longer treat dependence on the U.S. market as harmless convenience.

He framed that argument in nationalist terms, saying “security can’t be achieved by ignoring the obvious” and that he would not “sugarcoat” the challenge. Carney also reached into Canadian history, holding up a toy soldier of General Isaac Brock and invoking Chief Tecumseh and the War of 1812 to argue that Canada has faced threats to its sovereignty before. The comparison was pointed at a moment when Trump has repeatedly mused about annexing Canada as the 51st U.S. state.

Carney’s parliamentary majority, secured last week, gives him more room to turn that rhetoric into policy. He said the government would pursue a broader effort to grow Canada’s economy, attract new investment and sign trade deals with other countries. The question now is whether that becomes a real reordering of Canadian trade, or simply the language of resolve ahead of another difficult round with Washington.