Western Standard - September 08, 2026


Carney says U.S. wanted too much in failed trade deal


Episode Stats


Length

2 minutes

Words per minute

144.02

Word count

329

Sentence count

20


Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
00:00:00.000 By now, you've likely heard something
00:00:02.220 about the collapse of our trade talks with the United States.
00:00:05.740 And you've probably heard that we could not accept
00:00:07.940 what they were proposing.
00:00:09.900 Let's be clear, it's a shame
00:00:12.500 because a mutually beneficial trade agreement
00:00:15.160 between Canada and the United States is possible.
00:00:19.280 One that respects our sovereignty,
00:00:21.700 one that builds on our complimentary strengths,
00:00:24.720 one that lowers costs for families
00:00:26.600 on both sides of the border,
00:00:29.000 one that creates good jobs for our workers.
00:00:32.820 Canada has always worked towards these goals,
00:00:36.200 even while America's attention
00:00:37.920 and dedication to them has wavered.
00:00:41.120 Canada has consistently proposed long-term partnerships,
00:00:45.540 while the U.S. has too often demanded
00:00:48.500 short-term transactions.
00:00:50.600 At the 11th hour, they were still pursuing restrictions
00:00:54.260 on our ability to protect and promote
00:00:56.720 the French language, and our culture.
00:00:59.320 They wanted a say in our future trade agreements
00:01:01.400 with other countries.
00:01:02.780 And they were offering terms that would, over time,
00:01:06.000 undermine some of the most important industries
00:01:08.720 in our country, including automobiles,
00:01:11.300 steel, and forest products.
00:01:14.500 In short, they were asking far too much
00:01:17.680 and offering far too little.
00:01:21.040 We worked in good faith to reach a fair deal.
00:01:24.120 But since a fair deal wasn't on the table,
00:01:26.740 we made the right choice to walk away from a bad one.
00:01:31.860 The most fundamental issue
00:01:33.740 is that the cumulative US demands revealed
00:01:37.100 that they wanted us to become even more reliant on them,
00:01:40.540 not less.
00:01:42.060 In too many areas, they wanted dependency,
00:01:44.900 not a true economic partnership.
00:01:47.200 In the spring of last year,
00:01:48.700 I warned that America is trying to break us
00:01:51.400 so they can own us.
00:01:53.000 And I promise that that will never, ever happen.
00:01:57.340 Because just like in McDonald's day,
00:02:00.000 our future won't be decided in Washington,
00:02:03.100 but right across Canada.
00:02:05.880 And so I wanna talk to you today about our economic plan,
00:02:10.500 a plan that will make us stronger,
00:02:12.640 because rest assured,
00:02:14.280 we've been planning for just this scenario.