Top Canadian negotiator Dominic LeBlanc said that a US trade deal was not finalised, with just hours left until a midnight deadline when steep new tariffs are set to come into force.
“We have more work to do. We’re going to continue working up until the last minute. Our job is not finished,” Mr LeBlanc told reporters as he left the office of US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer after hours of talks.
In the latest salvo amid months of trade hostility, US President Donald Trump threatened to impose new 50% duties on a range of Canadian products by Wednesday.
But he issued a last-minute delay, citing major progress in talks.
Canadian negotiators have been in Washington this week trying to finalise a deal that reportedly aims to address various flash points.
Mr LeBlanc arrived with his team at Greer’s office past midday yesterday and only left around 7:30pm. Both officials also met for around three hours on Thursday.
The Canadian official’s latest comments came after Mr Trump said the United States “should be able to have a deal with Canada”, citing his “good relationship” with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Canada wants relief from Mr Trump’s tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, which have battered Canada’s economy, forced job losses, and strained what was once an ironclad trade relationship.
Details of the proposed agreement emerged this week after Mr Carney briefed the leaders of Canada’s provinces and territories.
US tariffs will likely be reduced in certain areas, but not removed entirely, with Saskatchewan’s conservative Premier Scott Moe telling reporters there’s no going back to the pre-Trump “status quo”.
A Leger opinion poll showed on Wednesday that 56% of Canadians want Mr Carney to make no further concessions.
Ryan Majerus, a trade lawyer at King & Spalding, said that Washington’s apparent willingness to reduce the sector-specific tariffs “dramatically increases the potential of a deal”.
“I think both sides want an off-ramp here,” Mr Majerus said, while noting that Ottawa was “under tremendous pressure” to get tariffs removed, and the public may be unhappy with the outcome.
Canada’s opposition Conservative Party was already on the offensive yesterday, with its leader Pierre Poilievre saying “one-sided tariffs on Canadian industry would be a bad deal”.
“Tell me how the Canadian company is supposed to compete against an American company when only our guy pays the tariff,” Mr Poilievre said.
Alcohol ban
Canada’s regional leaders said the United States has been particularly irritated by one retaliatory measure: the removal of US alcohol and wine from liquor stores.
Mr Carney on Wednesday asked the provinces to restock US booze.
Some publicly agreed, but others voiced hesitance.
Quebec Premier Christine Frechette said she wanted to study the deal before agreeing to anything, while Manitoba’s left-wing Premier Wab Kinew told reporters Trump appeared “weak” and suggested Canada should “fight”.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, one of Mr Trump’s most prominent critics during the trade war, has so far stayed quiet.
Mr Ford controls the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, one of the largest individual purchasers of US alcohol products.
Mr Carney has repeatedly told Canadians that relations with the United States have been forever changed, regardless of what happens with an individual trade deal.
He says the country needs to diversify and reduce its reliance on the United States, which currently accounts for roughly 70% of Canadian exports.
Beyond the ongoing negotiations, the United States and Canada still have to agree on revisions to the North American free trade agreement, USMCA, which Mr Trump declined to renew last month.