Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford have unveiled a 6.2 billion dollar package to shield Canada’s steel and auto industries from United States tariffs, warning that Washington has permanently altered a trade relationship built over decades.
Announced at a joint news conference on Parliament Hill on Wednesday, the plan directs 3.7 billion dollars to steelmakers and 1.8 billion to automakers over five years, with 1.1 billion of the auto funding coming from the federal government in Ottawa.
The announcement landed the same day United States-owned Cleveland-Cliffs confirmed layoffs at its Hamilton plant, underlining the human cost of the dispute for the city at the heart of Canada’s steel country.
Tariffs biting both sides
“US tariffs have upended a trade bargain that’s existed for decades,” Carney said. “They’ve raised costs for American families while putting Ontario workers and businesses at a disadvantage.” Canadian auto exports to the United States have fallen more than 10 percent, while American exports to Canada are down more than 20 percent.
Talks collapsed in August after Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on around 20 billion dollars in Canadian goods, prompting Canadian retaliation. Carney confirmed he spoke at length with Trump on Wednesday about trade, Iran and the Middle East, but signalled no breakthrough.
An election across the border
The dispute has even spilled into American politics: the United States Embassy in Canada accused Canadian politicians of seeking to influence American politics ahead of next month’s midterms, a charge Carney and Ford rejected. With the Bank of Canada’s October 28 decision looming, the tariff fight is now the defining economic story of the autumn.
The details of the package, reported by Euronews, amount to Ottawa’s biggest bet yet that it can outlast the trade war.
