Bessent to meet Champagne amid trade tensions
S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that he would meet with his Canadian counterpart, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Asheville, North Carolina. While Bessent did not specify who he would meet, Champagne will attend the event and hold bilateral meetings “to further Canada’s trade diversification efforts,” according to a statement from Canada’s Department of Finance.
The announcement comes amid escalating tensions between the two countries over trade. Last week, the S. imposed tariffs of up to 50 per cent on Canadian goods after trade talks collapsed on Aug. 21. Ottawa’s dollar-for-dollar countertariffs are scheduled to take effect Sept. 8.
Bessent accuses Carney of politicizing dispute
Speaking with CNBC on Monday, Bessent accused Prime Minister Mark Carney of turning the collapse of negotiations into “a political shouting match” for personal gain. “I think this is very unfortunate that Prime Minister Carney has turned this into a political shouting match. I mean, we’re not at war with Canada,” Bessent said.
Bessent added that Carney was offered “the best trade deal of any country on the globe” but chose to walk away, saying Carney was “not doing what’s best for Canada.” He further criticized Canada’s retaliatory tariffs, stating, “I don’t think you can be in a tit-for-tat with someone who’s 13 times larger than you are.”
In a separate remark, Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon compared the situation to “a scrap” between hockey teams. “I know we’re in a bit of a scrap here, but we know, in the end, when the whistle blows, we’re going to shake hands and we’ll be partners again,” he said in Hamilton. “We are going to remain calm. When there is a good faith deal, we will get back.”
Canadian public backs firm stance, poll suggests
Despite the heated rhetoric, a new Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News and released Saturday suggests strong public support in Canada for the government’s firm approach. The poll found that 63 per cent of Canadians surveyed feel Canada was right to stand firm in the trade negotiations, “even if it meant higher costs and job losses,” while just 18 per cent said Canada should have made additional sacrifices to get a deal.
An even larger majority, 73 per cent, said they back Ottawa’s “dollar for dollar” counter-tariffs on $28 billion worth of S. goods, matching the tariffs imposed by S. President Donald Trump.
However, the polling also shows that support varies significantly by age. Support for standing firm falls to 48 per cent of Gen Z adults and 57 per cent of millennials, while about 80 per cent of older boomers support both standing firm and the counter-tariffs. The survey suggests that while overall sentiment is behind the government, the generational divide could have implications for political support.