U.S. ‘withdrawing’ demands on Canadian content, bilingual labelling: LeBlanc

U.S. trade minister Dominic LeBlanc announced on Thursday that the United States has withdrawn its demands regarding Canadian content discoverability and bilingual labelling on streaming platforms, according to Prime Minister Mark Carney. Canada expressed its satisfaction with the reversal and stated that measures to promote the French language and Canadian culture will no longer be subject to future U.S. trade actions.

LeBlanc emphasized that Canada hopes for constructive U.S. clarifications, which could lead to a mutually beneficial trade agreement that respects Canadian sovereignty.

The U.S. initially proposed these measures last Tuesday, which Prime Minister Carney described as non-negotiable sticking points for Canada. Despite this, LeBlanc clarified that the U.S. position on these demands has now been withdrawn. The Prime Minister also addressed a recent claim by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who had denied making the demands, stating that the statement was a fabrication made by an ineffective Prime Minister to gain political support from Quebec.

LeBlanc dismissed these claims, expressing that Canadian businesses continue to face Trump's latest duties while awaiting further actions from Ottawa, including the planned retaliation through counter-tariffs on American steel and aluminum products and other U.S. exports.