Trade war to dominate meeting with premiers, prime minister

Ontario Premier Doug Ford arrived in Huntsville on Monday to host the 2025 Premiers' Meeting.

By Liam Casey

The growing trade war with the United States will be top of the agenda when Canada’s premiers meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney Tuesday.

The premiers say they want to hear more about Carney’s plans to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s Aug. 1 deadline to get a trade deal done.

In a letter to Carney on July 10, Trump threatened to impose 35-per-cent tariffs on Canadian goods by Aug. 1, setting a new deadline for trade talks that were supposed to have wrapped up by now.

Carney said last week a trade deal with the U.S. will likely include some tariffs, and that he expects talks to intensify ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline.

The premiers also say they hope to learn more about possible nation-building projects Carney is considering.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she is hoping to learn more about Carney’s meeting with First Nation chiefs last week over their concerns about speeding up the development of pipelines and resource extraction projects in their territories.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2025.