WASHINGTON, D.C. — Canadians’ affection for the United States tends to rise and fall with whoever’s in the White House. It dropped for president George W. Bush, rose for Barack Obama, and then plunged during Donald Trump’s first term, only to rise again with Joe Biden. In the first year of Trump’s second presidency, however, Canada’s fondness for its southern neighbour has plumbed new lows.
A new Republican-sponsored bill in the U.S. Congress takes aim at Canada’s attempts to force foreign streaming companies such as Netflix and Disney+ to pay into Canadian funds for domestic content production.
The proposed legislation could pave the way for the United States to impose new tariffs on Canadian products.
According to the US government, climate change from man-made greenhouse gases is fake news. Lee Zeldin, director of the Environmental Protection Agency, brands it as nothing but “climate change religion,” while President Trump calls it a hoax and “perhaps the biggest scam in history.” The climate-change debate is dead and over — at least under one roof.
On this track, the US government is now shredding a tall stack of greenhouse-gas regulations. It’s being called the “single largest regulatory action in US history.”
(Incognito)
They may be bitter rivals in the House of Commons, but outside the chamber, recent events may have led to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Prime Minister Mark Carney forging a bond.
In recent interviews, Poilievre has said he is communicating regularly with Carney to present a united front while travelling abroad.
“Even on my visit [to the United States], I’m sending him text messages to tell him what’s going on, to try and support his work … we both want what’s best for Canada,” Poilievre told American podcaster Joe Rogan this week.
That’s no fun.
Based on Mark Carney’s view of today’s world, Canada is on the menu rather than at the table. That’s the only way to view what has happened over the last few months as trade talks between Canada and the United States have stalled, but talks between the U.S. and Mexico have been progressing.
While Canada’s economy is far more reliant on exports to the U.S. than vice versa, Canadian negotiators have crucial ammunition in their efforts to land a trade deal that reduces or eliminates tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Before Trump launched his tariff war, roughly 76 per cent of Canada’s exported goods went to the U.S., while just 17 per cent of U.S. exported goods were destined to Canada.
The U.S. hunger for Canadian exports exposes the falsehood in Trump’s repeated claims that his country doesn’t need anything from Canada. Meanwhile, U.S. industries have told the administration that cross-border trade is essential to their success.
Americans will soon catch a glimpse of something North American politicians once tried to keep far away: cheap Chinese electric vehicles.
As Canada begins importing the EVs, U.S. residents in border cities like Detroit and Buffalo, New York, may see their northern neighbors at the wheel. Or American tourists visiting Canada may experience brands like Xiaomi, Leapmotor and BYD when taking a ride-share.
It’s a situation that the U.S. and Canada sought to avoid for years, worried that the introduction of China’s low-cost, high-tech EVs would undermine domestic automakers and lead to Chinese surveillance. But President Donald Trump’s 25 percent tariff on Canadian autos and auto parts has scrambled the North American auto market.
This is the supposedly superior Chinese self-driving technology of the BYD Han. 🤡
The car has been going round and round at the airport for hundreds of laps nonstop. 😅😂
The driver keeps pressing the brakes, but nothing happens. 😱 https://t.co/mkiAAPQSD6 pic.twitter.com/8Ogp55Xp9E
— Pseudo Prophet (@Pseudo_Prophet_) March 17, 2026
The U.S. has begun forced labour probes into 60 economies that critics say are a ‘show trial’ that will allow Trump to slap new tariffs on trading partners such as Canada
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Trade watchers say they are shocked at the latest tactic being used by the U.S. Trump administration to shore up its tariff wall against Canada after a legal setback last month.
Last week, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) launched investigations into 60 economies under Section 301(b) of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974 to determine whether they have failed to impose or enforce bans on imports produced with forced labour. But critics in the Washington beltway say the 301 probes are basically a “show trial” and that the verdict is sure to go against trading partners such as Canada.
Ouch!
🚨NEW – VANCE DROPS TRUTH BOMB ON CANADA:
“We had to foot the bill for Canada!
Is that fair that you and your kids have to pay for the military of a foreign country?…. NO!” pic.twitter.com/zutKG0ksoJ
— Tablesalt 🇨🇦🇺🇸 (@Tablesalt13) March 18, 2026
Canada’s Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre on Sunday unveiled a plan to double the country’s vehicle production.
Polievre called for a tariff-free auto pact with the United States while pledging to scrap both the Liberal government’s Chinese EV import quota and its electric vehicle mandate.
HALIFAX—Whatever you may think about Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s chances of becoming prime minister—the proverbial snowball in hell comes to mind—he keeps trying to find a way to stay in the game against Mark Carney.
It is no easy task. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s lead over Poilievre in the polls keeps growing, recently hitting 13 points. If that spread were to hold in an election, it would be a debacle for the Conservatives.
Rumours persist that more Conservative MPs may be planning to join the handful of former colleagues who’ve already defected to the Liberals.
Some Canadians find it perfectly in step … and that number will only increase as more awaken to the rape of Canada by Carney and his Brookfield pals.
WINDSOR – Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has unveiled a new auto plan aiming to secure tariff-free access to the U.S. market.
The plan would harmonize tailpipe emissions reductions with the U.S., and align Canada with the United States on Chinese tariffs in a move meant to give Canada leverage in trade talks.
Poilievre would also implement a rule where for each car produced in Canada, the same manufacturer would be able to sell a U.S. or Mexico-made car in Canada duty-free.
LIVE: A new tariff-free 🇨🇦🇺🇸 auto pact // EN DIRECT : Un nouveau Pacte de l’automobile 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 sans tarifs https://t.co/yGhrcZSYo0
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) March 15, 2026
OTTAWA – Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he’s planning to pitch a “realistic proposal” to end U.S. tariffs on the Canadian auto industry this weekend.
He says his proposed auto pact would align regulations between Canada and the U.S. and remove the GST from Canadian-made vehicles.
He told reporters his plan, which he intends to roll out on Sunday, is “literally the only hope of keeping our auto sector in Canada.”
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has expanded its trade investigations to 60 countries, including Canada, in an effort to shore up the president’s tariff policies.
“We are trying to move very quickly,” United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC Friday. “We are trying to move in a matter of months.”
Greer’s office announced Wednesday that it was launching investigations of the European Union and a handful of other countries under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
A new survey from Nanos Research for CTV News found 43 per cent of Canadians are less likely to travel to the United States in 2026, compared to the previous year.
Thirty-eight per cent said they don’t vacation in the United States in general, while just four per cent said they are likely to spend more leisure time south of the border.
For many Canadians, “the U.S. is not on the radar in terms of a travel destination,” said Nik Nanos.
As U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war against Canada stretches into its second year, more than half of Americans said in an Angus Reid survey that they don’t want any tariffs on Canada, with the majority viewing their northern neighbour positively.
With the Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) free trade agreement up for renegotiation this year, 51 per cent of U.S. respondents told the survey that if they had their way, there would be no tariffs on Canada at all.
