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International Trade

Question period exchanges on U.S. tariffs affecting Canadian trade. The Conservatives said tariffs on steel and lumber have increased, that the Prime Minister did not get a promised deal last July, and asked why the tariffs have not been removed. The Liberals said the government is ready to negotiate a deal with the United States but only one acceptable to Canada, and said the Conservatives would accept a worse deal.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

4 statements

Mel Arnold

Conservative

Linked statement

“The Prime Minister is failing to stop U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and lumber. These tariffs are hurting sawmills and towns in British Columbia. When will he get results instead of making excuses?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, is the Prime Minister waving the white flag on U.S. tariffs? He sits by and does nothing while U.S. tariffs on steel have doubled, and they have tripled on lumber. He has failed in negotiating the reduction of a single tariff. Sawmills and the B.C. towns that they support are reeling from his failure to negotiate a deal. Speeches, illusions, excuses and failures are not going to cut it for the millions of families’ livelihoods that are at stake. When will the Prime Minister start delivering results instead of excuses?

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Steven MacKinnon

Liberal
“We are ready to negotiate a trade deal with the United States, but only if it is good for Canada. The Conservatives want us to take any deal, but we will not do that.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Clarity 49 of 100

    Much of this statement used imprecise wording, lacked details on timing or responsibility, or made broad claims without support.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and his team, the ambassador and the ministers involved, we are prepared and ready and stand willing to negotiate in good faith a deal with the United States. It will not be any deal; it will be a deal acceptable for Canada. Contrast that with the Conservative position, with the member’s colleague going to Washington and saying that Canadians are having a hissy fit and their getting up every day and systematically urging us to take any deal. We will not do that.

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Mel Arnold

Conservative
“The Prime Minister failed to get a trade deal last July and gave away our advantage in talks. Why did he drag this out instead of getting tariffs on Canadian goods removed?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister’s illusions tactic and excuses are no help to Canadians. Instead of getting a trade deal last July, as he promised, he squandered his leverage with concessions made 10 months ago. He does not even show up to do his job, while Mexico makes progress ahead of him. Why did the Liberal Prime Minister make the strategic error of dragging this out instead of using the leverage we had at the beginning of the talks to get tariffs removed on Canadian goods?

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Maninder Sidhu

Liberal
“Trade with the United States is very important to Canada. Our government is working together as a team to protect Canadian interests. We will not back down and take a bad deal like the Conservatives wanted to do in 2018.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Signal 37 of 100

    Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, we all know the vital importance of the Canada-U.S. relationship, especially as it relates to trade. I have seen it first-hand in the private sector. I spent 13 years facilitating international trade, utilizing NAFTA and CUSMA in thousands of transactions. We will continue to be at the table. We need to ensure that we take a team Canada approach. That is exactly what we are doing. We do not want to go back to 2018, when the Conservatives asked us to capitulate and take any deal.

View on ourcommons.ca Grade D– View analysis

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