Most Canadians say Carney government ‘did the right thing’ on trade talks, but fear repercussions

On Monday, U.S. Vice-President JD Vance made a "Freudian slip," accidentally referring to Canada as a U.S. state while criticizing the country's trade and defense policies. The incident occurred during a political event in Maine, where Vance was lambasting Canada's trade and defense policies following failed negotiations. Despite Prime Minister Mark Carney pulling Canada out of the negotiations the previous week, Vance claimed the talks were still ongoing.

Carney countered that Canada would only resume negotiations when the U.S. begins acting fairly and respects Canada's sovereignty. Vance disagreed, alleging that Canada had been acting unfairly through its trade policies and during the negotiations. He stated that Canada underinvests in its military, relying on U.S. protection, and imposes non-tariff duties on Maine products entering Canada. Vance accused Canada of unfairly treating Chinese goods, offering them better terms than those of Maine and other American states.

Vance suggested that Canada had been making unreasonable demands in the negotiations, causing Carney to pull Canada out. He demanded an end to Canada's "backdoor" status for Chinese goods and called for Canada to apply fairness in its trade practices with the U.S. and Maine. Carney reiterated that Canada would not return to negotiations until the U.S. acted fairly and respected Canadian sovereignty.