Carney says Trump’s tariffs hurt Americans as US Embassy alleges
Canadian interference
[October 22, 2026] By
ROB GILLIES
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that
U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs have driven up costs for American
families and upended a decades-old trade relationship as he unveiled a
multibillion-dollar plan to shield Canada’s manufacturing heartland from
the trade war.
Carney also said he spoke with Trump for “quite some time” about issues
including trade, as the U.S. Embassy in Canada accused Canadian
politicians of seeking to influence American politics ahead of next
month’s midterm elections. Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford rejected
suggestions of improper interference.
Trump has openly said he wants automakers to move production from Canada
to the United States, threatening an industry deeply integrated across
the border for decades.
“U.S. tariffs have upended a trade bargain that’s existed for decades,”
Carney said. “They’ve raised costs for American families while putting
Ontario workers and businesses at a disadvantage and under a cloud of
uncertainty.”
Carney said an integrated North American auto industry would benefit
both countries but acknowledged that it may no longer be a priority for
Washington. “Their approach has changed,” he said. “So must ours.”
Carney said the conversation covered Iran, the Middle East and some
trade issues. They discussed Ukraine days earlier. He gave no indication
of a breakthrough but said Canada remains ready to negotiate.
Trade negotiations collapsed in August after the countries appeared
close to a deal. Trump subsequently imposed 50% tariffs on about $20
billion in Canadian goods, prompting Canadian retaliation.
Ford: No going back in Canada-US relations
“It’s clear that Canada’s relationship with the United States has
changed permanently,” Ford said. “No matter what happens in the
midterms, no matter who sits in the White House, we’re not going back to
the way things were.”
Trump’s trade war and repeated threats to make Canada the 51st U.S.
state have fueled a surge in Canadian nationalism. Carney has made
reducing Canada’s dependence on the United States a priority, setting a
goal of doubling exports to other markets over the next decade.
Billions to protect Canadian industries
Carney and Ford announced the 8.7 billion Canadian dollar ($6.2 billion)
plan to support steelmakers, automakers and critical mineral development
in Ontario, Canada’s manufacturing heartland.
The plan includes CA$5.2 billion ($3.7 billion) over five years for
steelmakers and CA$2.5 billion ($1.8 billion) for automakers, including
CA$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion) from Ottawa.
The announcement comes as U.S.-owned steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs
announced layoffs at its Hamilton, Ontario, plant, highlighting the toll
of Trump’s tariffs on Canadian manufacturing.
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Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford, not
shown, participate in a joint news conference on Parliament Hill in
Ottawa, on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
via AP)
 US Embassy alleges Canadian
interference in American politics
Also Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy issued a fact sheet accusing
Canadian politicians of seeking to interfere in American elections.
The statement singled out Industry Minister Mélanie Joly for
discussing retaliatory tariffs targeting Republican states and Ford
for airing a U.S. advertisement featuring former President Ronald
Reagan criticizing tariffs. Trump abruptly canceled trade talks with
Canada after the ad aired during the World Series in October 2025.
The embassy also cited 11 Canadians charged with illegally voting in
U.S. elections between 2012 and 2026, without linking the cases to
Canada’s government.
The administration has launched a whole-of-government effort to
investigate and prosecute noncitizen voting, something election
experts and administrators characterize as a comparatively small
issue. The Department of Justice says that since the start of 2026
it has arrested more than 200 people for illegally voting as
noncitizens in past elections, a vanishingly small number compared
to the country's tens of millions of regular voters.
“The items featured in the U.S. embassy’s ‘fact sheet’ are not
genuine examples of foreign interference and the implicit assumption
that Canada could significantly alter the outcome of the midterms is
absurd,” said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill
University in Montreal.
“Accusing Canada of foreign interference ahead of the midterms could
pave the way to ‘Blame Canada’ rhetoric after the electoral results
are in.”
Carney said Canada was responding to U.S. tariffs, while Ford denied
any interest in interfering in American elections.
Carney said Canadian auto exports to the U.S. have fallen more than
10%, while U.S. exports to Canada have dropped more than 20%.
“Tariffs make both our industries weaker and reduce choice for our
families,” Carney said.
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