OTTAWA, CANADA — Prime Minister Mark Carney abruptly caved on Canada’s retaliatory tariffs against the United States Sunday after President Donald Trump threatened to return Canadian-born Sen. Ted Cruz to Canada, bringing an immediate end to Ottawa’s latest attempt to stand up to Washington.
The stunning reversal came just days after Mark Carney vowed that Canada would not back down from the escalating trade war and promised to retaliate against Trump’s tariffs with measures of its own.
“We will defend Canadian workers,” Carney declared during a fiery speech earlier in the week, standing in front of a large “Elbows Up” sign. “Canada will not be bullied, intimidated, or pushed around.”
That confidence lasted until Trump discovered that Canada had one export it desperately wanted the United States to keep. According to sources familiar with the negotiations, Carney immediately requested an emergency phone call with the White House., begging the president not to follow through with his threat.
At press time, Carney was reportedly preparing a new bilateral trade proposal offering the United States lower Canadian tariffs, increased imports of American goods and continued access to Canada’s energy markets in exchange for the United States keeping Ted Cruz.
