'Canada is NOT the 51st state': US lawmakers condemn trade war with Canada after deal falls apart

Prime Minister Mark Carney pulled Canadian negotiators out of the high-stakes trade talks late Friday, refusing to yield to last-minute White House demands that targeted Canadian trade sovereignty and culture.

American lawmakers condemn White House approach

The collapse of the talks brought 50% tariffs into force against $28 billion worth of Canadian exports. Carney quickly responded by pledging matching dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs on US goods, making clear that Canada will not accept economic coercion from our southern neighbour.

The firm response from Ottawa drew immediate backing from US politicians who warned that the White House is damaging vital trade partnerships.

“Canada is NOT the 51st state,” Murray said in a statement posted to social media. “Trump owes our friends and neighbors an apology for nearly 2 years of his boorish insults and jeers. Canada IS Washington state’s biggest trading partner and our country’s closest ally. Dump Trump’s tariffs. NO TRADE WAR.”

Other border-state leaders echoed those concerns, warning that American consumers and businesses will bear the cost of the trade dispute.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul took to social media to criticize the administration’s actions.

“Needlessly picking fights with our allies and raising prices here at home. That’s Trump’s economic policy in a nutshell,” Hochul posted on X.

Stalled negotiations and tariff escalation

The political fallout follows months of friction over sector-specific exemptions and broader trade terms. Canadian officials drew a hard line when US terms began threatening core domestic industries.

Carney explained at an Ottawa press conference that the US attempted to introduce last-minute restrictions on Canada’s economic independence, including limits on pursuing deals with global trading partners and reduced tariff relief for manufacturing sectors like auto assembly.

“The U.S. introduced in the last hours efforts to restrict our ability to have other trade deals,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said during his address on the failed talks. “Because we believe in free trade, we’re the partner of choice, in many respects, for countries around the world, and Americans wanted to restrict that, they had language to restrict that. Unacceptable.”

Carney framed the cumulative pressure from Washington as a direct challenge to the nation’s independence, noting that “it’s a power play, and it becomes a question of sovereignty.”