Prime Minister Mark Carney in Huntsville, Ont., after meeting with Canada's premiers. Mr. Carney says a trade deal with the U.S. may not be finalized by U.S. President Donald Trump's Aug. 1 deadline.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney and several premiers say getting the best deal for Canada is what matters in the latest round of trade talks with the United States, even if that means blowing past the countries’ Aug. 1 deadline.
Mr. Carney updated provincial and territorial leaders on the state of those talks Tuesday at a meeting he called in direct response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to raise tariffs on some Canadian goods to 35 per cent at the beginning of next month.
Neither the Prime Minister nor the premiers divulged the details of their discussion to reporters outside the meeting in Huntsville, Ont.
But all focused their remarks on an urgent need to press ahead with domestic economic reforms and projects. It was an acknowledgment that an end to the trade dispute in a matter of days is uncertain.
Prime Minister Mark Carney played down the importance of a looming Aug. 1 deadline in trade talks with the U.S. on Tuesday, saying the objective is to get the best possible deal for Canadians. Mr. Carney was invited to join the premiers in Ontario's cottage country this week as they gathered to discuss eliminating internal trade barriers and U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose 35-per-cent tariffs on a wide variety of Canadian goods on Aug. 1.
The Canadian Press
The premiers told Mr. Carney Canada doesn’t need to rush the trade talks.
“We’ve encouraged the Prime Minister to not make a deal at all costs,” New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said.
“I think the timeline is of lesser importance than the substance of the deal and the impact of the tariffs and what we agree to and what we hold the line on,” she told reporters.
At a G7 meeting in June, the Prime Minister said he and Mr. Trump were going to work toward reaching a new trade deal within 30 days. Earlier this month, Mr. Trump extended that deadline by saying he would impose 35-per-cent tariffs on imports from Canada starting Aug. 1, increasing pressure on the negotiations. The levies would apply to goods that are not compliant with the U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement.
Mr. Legault, right, speaks to the media with Ontario Premier Doug Ford during the 2025 summer meetings of Canada’s Premiers at Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ont., Tuesday.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Last week, Mr. Carney acknowledged that a new deal will likely include some tariffs.
On Tuesday, he told reporters the government will agree to a deal only if and when there’s one on the table in the best interests of Canadians.
“They’re complex negotiations, and we’ll use all the time that’s necessary and, agree [on] something that’s in the interests of Canadians, if that’s available,” he said.
In French, he said, “it’s not our objective to have an agreement at any cost.”
Mr. Carney said a good deal will be one that “preserves, reinforces and stabilizes” the long-standing integrated and tariff-free relationship between the two countries.
Canada-U.S. Minister Dominic LeBlanc, as well as other senior government officials, are headed back to Washington this week to continue talks.
Mr. LeBlanc told The Globe and Mail he is meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick while in Washington.
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The premiers voiced confidence in Mr. Carney.
An Aug. 1 deal is realistic, but the President is highly unpredictable, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said.
“We’ve seen it over and over again,” he said. “We have to focus on what’s going to strengthen our country.”
But he also called on Ottawa to match Mr. Trump’s tariffs dollar-for-dollar – which Mr. Carney has not yet done.
Others, such as Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, have called for restraint, saying countertariffs only hurt Canadian industries.
The Prime Minister didn’t directly answer Tuesday when asked whether Canada would retaliate if the higher tariffs go into effect.
“We’re working positively for a deal. We’ll take stock if there isn’t one that works, but that depends on the overall circumstance,” he said.
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said he’s not fixated on the date for a deal but what’s in it.
He said he’d be worried about Canada constraining itself or giving up too much leverage just to reach a deadline.
“I think it’s just really important that we get the best deal for Canadians. And I’m personally not focused on the date,” he said.
From left: Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith sign a memorandum of understanding during the 2025 summer meetings of Canada's Premiers at Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ont., on Tuesday.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Late last month, Canada scrapped its digital services tax to keep the U.S. at the table on trade.
The U.S. has cited Canada’s supply-management system for agriculture as a trade irritant, something that Quebec Premier François Legault has made clear cannot be on the table for talks.
He said Tuesday, however, it also remains unclear what Mr. Trump actually wants, and in the meantime, the uncertainty is hurting investment.
“Of course, we would like to have the ideal deal, the fastest possible. But what can we get? You almost need to ask Donald Trump, and I’m not even sure that he knows himself.”
Former U.S. ambassador David MacNaughton, who met with the premiers alongside former ambassador Gary Doer for a working lunch on Tuesday, said the mood was positive and constructive, even if the provincial and territorial leaders didn’t agree on everything.
“It’s an environment and a sentiment I haven’t seen a lot in federal-provincial relations over the years,” he said.
He said premiers were asking questions on topics such as where Canada has leverage.
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Mr. MacNaughton was not in the meeting with Mr. Carney and the premiers but said he knows what the Prime Minister told them, although he wouldn’t go into detail.
“We should make sure that whatever we end up doing is a good deal. You can always get a deal, just not necessarily a good deal,” he said.
“We need to continue to have a constructive dialogue with the Americans and hope that we can find some kind of an agreement, but I don’t think we need to be panicked into trying to do something quickly.”
He added that Canada has a lot of work to do to “get our act together,” but said he sees momentum building.
The second major piece of Mr. Carney’s talks with the premiers was his government’s One Canadian Economy Act, known as Bill C-5, which gives the federal government the power to fast-track major projects of national interest.
The Prime Minister said a new major projects office will be open by Labour Day, which will provide a single point of contact for governments and project proponents, although the final list of projects has not been revealed.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused Mr. Carney of “breaking his promise to get projects done fast.”
“While we give away our resources at a discount and become more dependent on the U.S., the Liberal government stands in the way of getting things built,” Mr. Poilievre wrote on X.
“We can’t wait for every project to go through Carney’s thick political filter.”
Earlier Tuesday, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta called on Mr. Carney to repeal laws and regulations they say make it difficult to build major energy projects, including pipelines.
“It’s time to get rid of the bad laws that have harmed Canada’s ability to grow the energy sector and other industries such as mining and manufacturing,” Ms. Smith said.
She referred to laws including the environmental assessment act, Bill C-69, which is dubbed by critics as the “no more pipelines bill,” the oil and gas emissions cap, the tanker ban on British Columbia’s north coast and the net zero vehicle and electricity mandates.
Mr. Ford also said Tuesday that Mr. Carney stayed at his cottage on Monday night after the Ontario Premier played host to the other premiers for dinner.
Mr. Ford said he and the Prime Minister stayed up until 12:30 a.m., “chatting in front of the fireplace, solving all the world’s problems.”
“The Prime Minister is the most humble person you’d ever want to meet,” he said.