OTTAWA — The U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust division has been ordered to stop cooperating with Canadian authorities on active cases and competition-policy matters, according to a report published Friday.Lynda Marshall, chief of the division’s international section, issued the order in an internal email Wednesday without providing a reason, Reuters reported, citing an original report by The Wall Street Journal.The directive applies to antitrust and competition matters and does not amount to a suspension of all criminal, intelligence or national-security cooperation between the two countries.Officials were instructed to halt cooperation on cases and stop engaging with Canadian authorities on policy issues.Section chiefs within the antitrust division were also reportedly ordered to produce lists by Friday detailing their areas of cooperation with Canada.The United States and Canada have worked together on competition investigations for decades, including cases involving cross-border mergers, price-fixing and international cartels..A bilateral agreement signed in 1995 established a formal framework for co-ordinating antitrust enforcement. The two countries later adopted additional arrangements governing case referrals and joint merger reviews.U.S. authorities have previously said co-operation with Canada allowed investigators to obtain evidence located outside their jurisdiction and avoid conflicting enforcement decisions in cases affecting both countries.Neither the order nor the reports indicated how long the pause would remain in effect or whether existing joint investigations would be delayed.The U.S. Justice Department and Canadian authorities did not immediately provide a public explanation for the decision.The reported suspension comes as political and economic relations between Ottawa and Washington continue to deteriorate.Prime Minister Mark Carney withdrew Canadian negotiators from trade talks last month, saying last-minute American demands were “unfair” and threatened Canadian industries.U.S. President Donald Trump subsequently imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $28 billion in Canadian goods. Ottawa has promised matching counter-tariffs following the Labour Day weekend.Trump warned Carney Thursday that Canada’s economy would collapse if Canadian politicians continued portraying the American president as “the enemy.”The antitrust directive is separate from recent public threats by FBI Director Kash Patel to reconsider co-operation with Canadian agencies over internal CBC guidance concerning the description of the September 11 terrorist attacks.It was not immediately clear whether either controversy was connected to the Justice Department’s antitrust order.
