Métis National Council says meeting with premiers was collaborative, encouraging
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CTV News
28 minutes ago
- CTV News
Canada still working toward Aug. 1 trade deal deadline, LeBlanc says, as U.S. senator casts doubt
President of the King's Privy Council for Canada Dominic LeBlanc speaks at a press conference while Prime Minister Mark Carney listens, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Thursday, June 19, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Patrick Doyle WASHINGTON — Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Thursday he's feeling "encouraged" after meeting with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and American lawmakers in Washington, D.C., ahead of next week's tariff deadline. LeBlanc, however, indicated a new economic and security arrangement may not materialize by U.S. President Donald Trump's latest deadline. "Canadians expect us to take the time necessary to get the best deal we can in the interest of Canadian workers," LeBlanc said outside the Dirksen Senate Office Building. "So we are only going to be in a position to accept a deal when the prime minister decides that it is the best deal we can get in the interest of Canadian workers and the Canadian economy." U.S. President Donald Trump has sent letters to multiple nations, including Canada, saying that if no deal is made by Aug. 1, he will impose high tariffs on imports to the United States. Trump's letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney threatened Canada with 35 per cent tariffs but the White House has said the levies will not be applied to imports compliant with the Canada-U.S-Mexico Agreement on trade. Canada is also being hit with Trump's tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles, and will be impacted by copper duties that are also expected to kick in on Aug. 1. Only a handful of frameworks of trade deals have been announced since Trump first threatened his so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs in April. The president this week said his administration made deals with Japan and the Philippines, adding to previous agreements with Indonesia, Vietnam and the United Kingdom. Many details within the agreements remain vague but all include some level of a tariff, and it's unclear whether the deals would shield countries from Trump's plan to implement further sectoral duties on things like semiconductors and lumber. LeBlanc said "complex negotiations" are continuing between Canada and the United States and he will be returning to Washington next week. LeBlanc described his meeting with Lutnick as productive and cordial. The minister, who was joined by Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman, also had meetings with Republican senators Kevin Cramer, Roger Marshall, Shelley Moore Capito, Todd Young and Tim Scott. LeBlanc said they discussed border security and defence issues and the American lawmakers shared a "desire to see more stability and predictability in the relationship with the United States." "My conversations have focused on how we share so many priorities of President Trump's administration that we should be able to figure out together a deal that's in the best interest of Canadian workers, and obviously they are going to do their side of the table in terms of the American economy and American workers," LeBlanc said. Federal officials have remained tightlipped about what Trump's team has said it wants from Canada. After this week's trade deals were announced, Trump boasted on social media, saying he will only consider lowering tariff rates if countries open their markets to the United States. The president also said Japan would invest $550 billion in the U.S. 'at my direction." When Trump first browbeat Canada over tariffs, saying it was linked to the flow of deadly fentanyl, Ottawa responded with a boosted border plan and named a "Fentanyl Czar." Last month, Ottawa walked back its digital services tax after Trump threatened to halt all trade talks. Carney last week announced measures to stop Chinese steel dumping in Canada. Hillman said those efforts help Canada in its ongoing negotiations. "In our discussion with the American senators this week, the American administration, the measures that Canada has taken on steel in particular... are some of the strongest in the world," she said. "And that has been recognized and very much appreciated. So we are making some positive progress." Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski joined a bipartisan group of American lawmakers in Ottawa last week. The Republican said on Thursday that "we would all like to get to a better place with our trade relationship with Canada" but remained skeptical it would happen ahead of Aug. 1. Canada cannot be treated "as yet one more country that we need to reconcile tariffs on" because of shared economic and national security issues, she said. "I wish that I could say, 'It feels good,' that this is all going to be taken care of before the first of August, but I'm not sensing that," she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2025. Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
Vancouver Sun
28 minutes ago
- Vancouver Sun
Opinion: B.C.'s North Coast tanker ban is a line we should never cross
The people of B.C. live in a place where the ocean feeds us, where coastal jobs sustain entire communities, and where the laws we fought for reflect the values we share. The oil tanker moratorium on B.C.'s North Coast — which prohibits oil tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tons of crude from stopping, loading or unloading at ports or marine installations — isn't just a policy, it's a promise. A promise to protect what we love, to honour Indigenous leadership, and to choose a thriving future over reckless risk. This week, alarm bells are ringing in B.C. as Prime Minister Mark Carney spent the first half of the week meeting privately with provincial premiers. The fear is that these talks will pave the way for a new oil pipeline and with it, the repeal of the hard-won moratorium that keeps oil tankers out of some of the most treacherous waters in the world. A daily roundup of Opinion pieces from the Sun and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Informed Opinion will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said a new project could be announced 'any day now.' Ontario Premier Doug Ford has called the tanker ban the craziest idea he's ever heard. But here's the thing: When politicians in other provinces talk about our coast, they forget something important. It's not theirs to give away. Premier David Eby might be outnumbered at the table — but he's not alone. He speaks for the people of B.C., and we've already made ourselves clear: no oil tankers here, not ever. The movement that made the tanker ban law didn't disappear after the ink dried. We're still here. And we're still ready to defend the North Coast. The coast hasn't changed. Hecate Strait remains one of the most dangerous waterways on Earth, where waves reach 20 meters high. An oil spill there wouldn't just poison marine life — it would shatter economies, wipe out jobs, and destroy a way of life. We don't need to imagine the cost. We've seen it play out in other places, like when the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling 11 million gallons of oil. We refuse to let that happen here. The Great Bear Sea — ten million hectares of thriving cold-water ecosystems — is not a sacrifice zone. It's a lifeline. It sustains all five species of Pacific salmon, provides food security for the region, and supports thousands of jobs. It is sacred to the many First Nations who've stewarded this coast since time immemorial. That doesn't change because a couple of premiers want to score political points. Let's be honest: fossil fuel executives want to make a buck at our expense. But British Columbians know better. We chose a different path when we pressured Ottawa to pass the North Coast Tanker Ban in 2019 — a future powered by clean energy, not oil spills. And that future is arriving fast. Renewable power is now the cheapest energy source on Earth. It creates jobs, lowers bills, and gives us control over our economic destiny. Why would we throw that away? We only get one shot at building what comes next. If we squander our skilled workers and public investment on another oil pipeline, we don't just risk the coast — we risk the best opportunity we've had in a generation to be leaders when it comes to clean energy and building real economic security. Our ability to withstand President Donald Trump's economic shocks depends on developing new industries like solar, wind, and a cross-country grid so that we can, as Carney so often likes to say, 'stand on our own two feet.' We must not trade a prosperous future with clean, cheap energy and a healthy coastal economy for pollution and profit for oil company shareholders. This is the moment to say it plainly: We won't trade our coast, our jobs, or our children's future for more profits for oil companies. Not now. Not ever. We drew the line for a reason. Let's hold it — and build what comes next. Shelley Luce is the associate director and campaigns director at Sierra Club B.C. She is based in North Vancouver.
an hour ago
Canada's trade team downplays chances of deal with Trump by Aug. 1
With the clock ticking on U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to boost tariffs on some Canadian exports to 35 per cent starting Aug. 1, Canada's top trade negotiators are downplaying the likelihood of reaching a deal by that deadline. Dominic LeBlanc, minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, and Canada's ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, wrapped up two days of meetings with Republican senators. These included a brief sit-down between LeBlanc and Howard Lutnick, the U.S. secretary of commerce and Trump's point man on tariffs. We've made progress, but we have a lot of work in front of us, LeBlanc told reporters outside a Senate office building on Thursday. LeBlanc said he had a productive, cordial discussion with Lutnick and plans to return to Washington next week. He also added some caveats about the path to reaching a deal. We're going to continue to work toward the Aug. 1 deadline,' he said. But all of these deadlines are with the understanding that we'll take the time necessary to get the best deal that we think is in the interest of the Canadian economy and Canadian workers." Hillman, who was appointed Canada's chief negotiator with the U.S., also suggested an agreement with the Trump administration is not imminent. WATCH | Dominic LeBlanc speaks after meeting Trump's point man on tariffs: It's important for us to recognize that there is a time when the deal is the right deal, and it's important for us to be in a position to continue negotiating until we get to that point, she said. Their comments are the latest evidence that Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is not in a rush to sign a deal with the U.S. Carney said Tuesday that his objective is "not to reach a deal whatever it costs (new window) ." Following Carney's meeting with Canada's premiers earlier this week, Nova Scotia's Tim Houston said the prime minister isn't dead set on signing a deal by the deadline. Other countries reach tariff deals with Trump This comes amid Trump's announcements this week of framework agreements on tariffs struck with Japan (new window) and Indonesia, and reports the U.S. is closing in on a deal with the European Union. Canada may be less panicked than other trading partners about the Aug. 1 deadline because only a small portion of Canada's exports to the U.S. would be affected by Trump's threat of 35 per cent tariffs. That's because most goods enter the U.S. tariff-free (new window) under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA. Officials say LeBlanc and Hillman met with five Republican senators in Washington: Kevin Cramer (North Dakota), Roger Marshall (Kansas), Shelley Moore Capito (West Virginia), Tim Scott (South Carolina) and Todd Young (Indiana). Another Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, told reporters in Washington on Thursday that the U.S. shares a lot of security and economic interests with Canada and shouldn't treat it as just another country when it comes to tariffs. "I wish that I could say it feels good, that this is all going to be taken care of before the first of August, but I'm not sensing that," said Murkowski, who visited Ottawa on Monday (new window) to meet Carney and some of his cabinet ministers. Mike Crawley (new window) · CBC News · Senior reporter Mike Crawley has covered Ontario politics for CBC News since 2009. He began his career as a newspaper reporter in B.C., spent six years as a freelance journalist in various parts of Africa, then joined the CBC in 2005. Mike was born and raised in Saint John, N.B. Follow Mike Crawley on Twitter (new window)
