Canada, U.S. ‘can’ and ‘must’ restore frayed relationship amid trade war: Mass. governor

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey talks about the impact that U.S. tariffs against Canada have had on her state's economy.

The governor of Massachusetts says it’s possible and necessary to restore the economically interdependent relationship between Canada and the U.S., amid an ongoing trade war.

In the months since U.S. President Donald Trump launched his trade war in February with a series of tariffs on Canadian imports, Prime Minister Mark Carney has repeatedly said the longstanding relationship between the two countries, based on integrated economies and security cooperation, is “over.”

Maura Healey believes it can be salvaged.

“I think they can, and I think they must. They should,” Healey told CTV Power Play host Vassy Kapelos in an interview on Tuesday, when asked whether she believes relations between the two countries can go back to how they used to be.

“But I appreciate what the prime minister is saying, because, unfortunately, President Trump took action that has been harmful,” Healey added. “Harmful to American residents, harmful to American businesses, and obviously, also harmful to the relationship between Canada and the United States.”

While Carney hosted day one of the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., on Monday, a group of premiers and northeastern governors met in Boston, Mass. at Healey’s invitation, in a bid to strengthen ties amid the U.S. president’s tariff regime.

Healey said while the ties between the two countries have been “frayed and tested,” they need to be “restored” and “shored up.”

Trump attended the G7 summit Monday and participated in a bilateral meeting with Carney before leaving the gathering early to focus on the conflict in the Middle East.

According to a readout of the meeting from the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday night, the two leaders have agreed to pursue a new economic and security deal within the next 30 days.

Healey said she hopes that deal can be reached as soon as possible — which she believes will help both parties move toward a restored relationship — but added she heard and understood from premiers on Monday “how real the anger is, the resentment, the fear, the feeling of betrayal on the part of Canadians.”

“It’s very important that a deal be reached,” Healey said. “The relationship between Canada and the United States is just so deep, and we in Massachusetts and across this region, so appreciate it.”

You can watch Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey’s full interview on CTV Power Play with Vassy Kapelos in the video player at the top of this article