Candidate Mark Carney presented himself as someone capable of securing a strong deal with President Trump for Canada. Both before and after his becoming prime minister, his comments about President Trump and the US have been framed by his negative narrative and often fail to discuss the facts. He has also made a number of negative comments critical of America while implying that the President is a problem without being direct. At the same time, Brookfield Asset Management, where Mr. Carney previously served as chair, remains headquartered in New York rather than in Toronto, where it used to be. He had advised the company’s shareholders to support the move to America. He has positioned himself as a spokesman for the world’s “middle powers.” He promotes a “new world order,” but critics argue that this largely repackages the hyper-globalization economic model of the late twentieth century. This is not how one engages in international diplomacy and trade. Furthermore, he has not negotiated a new trade agreement between Canada and the US.Multiple reports indicate that in early October 2025, Canadian and US negotiators were close to finalizing the framework for a bilateral trade agreement. By late October, the negotiations had collapsed. One reported issue concerned the automobile sector not being adequately addressed. In mid-October, Stellantis announced that it would not retool the Brampton assembly plant and would move production of a new Jeep model to Belvidere, Illinois. General Motors had already implemented changes in response to the US tariffs. As reported by SupplyChainBrain (October 17, 2025), Industry Minister Mélanie Joly subsequently threatened legal action against Stellantis. She and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne also imposed limits on tariff-free imports for Stellantis and GM. Prime Minister Mark Carney previously stated that Canada would take a firm stand against tariffs affecting the auto sector and described the Brampton situation as a consequence of those tariffs. The Canadian government claimed its actions were protecting Canadian jobs, although that claim is difficult to accept given that Prime Minister Carney effectively threw those same auto workers “under the bus” through his agreement to import Chinese vehicles. Trade tensions rose, but the US officials viewed this as more Canadian resistance to change. According to reports, the US rhetoric did not escalate at the time but did respond. As reported by Spencer Van Dyk (CP24, April 22, 2026), the US claimed that “They’ve (Canada) doubling down on globalization when we’re trying to correct the problem of globalization.” The Americans may have also seen the actions by the ministers as poorly timed, considering what they had achieved in the negotiations. The US left the door open to future talks by blaming Premier Doug Ford’s Reagan ad, which was a major miscalculation. It is highly unusual for a US ally to run a politically targeted advertisement in the US criticizing a sitting American president. Although the ad created negative optics, initially, President Trump downplayed it. In advance of October 2025, the US had already reached or was actively negotiating bilateral auto and auto-parts trade agreements with five major auto-producing countries, while Canada’s position remained increasingly unsettled. .At a deeper level, Stellantis and GM were caught in the middle of a situation that was created by Canada’s slow response to the tariffs placed on the non-CUSMA-compliant auto sector. First, the tariffs were not aimed specifically at Canada. The declaration from President Trump made this particular tariff on imports, and it was put in place for security reasons. Further, it only applied to non-CUSMA-compliant autos and parts. This came about because of a US Commerce Department investigation in 2019, (The Effect of Imports of Automobiles and Automobile Parts on the National Security: An Investigation Conducted Under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as Amended) before Trump’s second election. The announcement was made at the end of March 2025. Canada had half a year to act to protect jobs in Ontario. GM’s strategy seems to have been to start making the transition immediately. Stellantis may have taken a wait-and-see approach. Canada’s negotiating team, headed by Minister Mélanie Joly, overreacted despite having ample time before October. With the collapse of these negotiations, no serious further trade deal has been concluded. The discussions have experienced both progress and setbacks, but the Prime Minister does not appear interested in sustained negotiations with the US. Instead, he has been traveling internationally, attempting to secure agreements while raising his personal profile. Since October 2025, he has visited roughly fifteen countries and signed multiple non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and partnership agreements, but no actual trade agreements. There is the Canada-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), negotiations began in 2021 and was signed in 2025. Although he claimed this success, it was the work of Trudeau’s trade team. While the Prime Minister travels around the world discussing “rupture,” “middle powers,” and confronting President Trump, Canada’s most important trading relationship with the US is being neglected. Canadians themselves are also being neglected. Canada’s economic stability is bolstered by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which faces review in 2026 and could become a source of uncertainty if parties fail to reach consensus on its continuation by July. Prime Minister Carney is also borrowing at a significantly higher rate than the previous Trudeau government, in part to offset the consequences of the October 2025 decisions. Did the man who promised to secure a strong trade deal with President Trump choose the wrong negotiating team under Minister Joly, or did the team reflect the Prime Minister’s intentions? Either way, Mark Carney shows he has no greater competency than his predecessor.Dr. A.W. Barber is the former Director of Asian Studies at the University of Calgary. He is internationally active and has wide-ranging interests.
