Sep 11, 2026
This week, NDP Leader Avi Lewis opened three days of meetings with his five-member parliamentary caucus in Toronto by accusing the Carney government of forgetting about ordinary Canadians amid the trade war with the U.S. At the negotiating table, he said, if you’re a powerful corporation in Canada, you go “to the front of the line,” according to CBC News.
Lewis made the comments at a Tuesday news conference, standing alongside union leaders, affordable-housing advocates and food bank leaders. He argued the government has found billions for a new pipeline to the West Coast and record military spending, but not enough for the everyday cost pressures hitting one of the country’s most expensive cities. The NDP Leader also claimed the trade-war response is a fast track for the corporate sphere’s wish list while asking, in effect, “where is the money for people?”
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Lewis called for EI reform and better wage support for workers hit by the trade war, while also arguing for more affordable housing, mandatory rent control and publicly run grocery stores to bring down food prices.
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Here’s what the trade war is actually costing Canadians, what income support already exists today and how to protect your own finances regardless of how the political fight plays out.
What Lewis is accusing Carney of
Lewis has criticized corporate concentration and free trade deals since entering federal politics, blaming what he calls a small cluster of oil, grocery, telecom and banking companies for squeezing Canadian households. His caucus retreat comments extend that argument to the trade file directly: that Carney’s government, negotiating with Washington, has left workers and communities absorbing the fallout of tariffs while large businesses receive more relief.
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What the trade war is actually costing Canadians
The US tariffs that took effect on August 22 apply to about US$20 billion of Canadian goods — Canada matched them with its own retaliatory tariffs on roughly C$27.6 billion of American products, which went into effect September 8. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business found 40% of its members that export to the US sell something now caught by the tariffs, leaving smaller exporters with the least cash on hand to absorb the hit.
University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe estimates the tariffs put close to 90,000 Canadian jobs at risk once direct and indirect losses are counted, which could push the national unemployment rate up roughly 0.4 percentage points. The hardest-hit sectors include agriculture, electronics, textiles, furniture and plastics, with knock-on losses in trucking and warehousing.
The Bank of Canada held its key interest rate at 2.25% at its September meeting, citing rising trade uncertainty alongside inflation risk. It noted the tariffs affect about 5% of Canadian exports to the US and shouldn’t derail the broader economy, but flagged that a prolonged fight could still delay hiring and business investment in exposed sectors.
What income support already exists, versus what Lewis wants
Lewis’s call for EI reform lands on top of measures already in place. Employment and Social Development Canada has extended three temporary EI measures for tariff-affected workers through October 10, 2026. These include: a waived one-week waiting period, so payments start immediately; suspended treatment of severance and other separation money, so workers don’t have to exhaust it before collecting EI; and 20 extra weeks of regular benefits for long-tenured workers who need more time to find new work.
Rent control and publicly run grocery stores, by contrast, remain NDP policy proposals rather than active programs — worth watching in the months ahead, but not something to build a household budget around today.
What to do with your own finances now
The political fight over who’s protecting whom won’t resolve the trade war on your timeline. A few practical moves:
- If you’ve lost your job or hours due to tariffs, confirm whether your claim qualifies for the extended EI measures before the October 10, 2026 cutoff
- If you work in an exposed sector — manufacturing, agriculture, transportation — build or top up an emergency fund now
- Watch BoC rate decisions closely — a rate on hold at 2.25% means borrowing costs aren’t falling soon, so budget mortgage or loan renewals accordingly
Lewis’s claim that Carney is putting corporations ahead of ordinary Canadians will keep playing out in Parliament and in the next election. The EI measures, job risk and interest-rate holds are already playing out in paycheques. The practical move is to check what support you can actually claim today, and build a buffer for what you can’t.
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Writer and editor based in Toronto with experience in personal finance, insurance, arts and culture and branded content.
