Carney warns of tough times ahead in national address as retaliatory tariffs begin

Carney warns of tough times ahead in national address as retaliatory tariffs begin

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney is warning Canadians the country's pivot away from the United States will "come at a cost" — but insists the alternative would be far worse.

In a national video address released Tuesday — hours after Canada's retaliatory tariffs kicked in — Carney discussed Canada's plan to respond to the U.S. trade war by striking new trade deals with other countries.

"We have everything we need to pivot and prosper," he said.

"That pivot will come at a cost. There's always a cost to action. But it doesn't come close to the cost of standing still."

The video is the latest in a series Carney launched last spring to update Canadians on his government's polices and its response to U.S. trade actions.

Carney said the goal of those policies is to make Canada stronger and more resilient so that "no country can ever hold us hostage, and that we can live how we want to live."

Carney cut off trade talks with the United States last month. The two sides failed to reach a deal before U.S. President Donald Trump's deadline for imposing new 50 per cent tariffs on nearly $28 billion in Canadian goods.

In his video address, Carney again accused the U.S. side of trying to introduce measures that would have restricted Canada's ability to trade with other countries, and its ability to promote and protect the French language and culture.

Federal conservatives continued calling over the weekend for Carney to release the full details of the deal his government rejected, and for Parliament to be recalled earlier than the scheduled Sept. 21 return date.

"We're asking for the prime minister to be straight-up. We know it's not easy to negotiate with the U.S. president. But the best way to keep everyone united and rowing in the same direction is to be up front about the costs, the decisions and the plan going forward," Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said at a news conference in Regina on Sunday.

"The only people who haven't seen (the deal) are the Canadian people. They deserve to see it so they can judge what we are fighting for, and what we are fighting against."

Responding to Carney's video on Tuesday, Poilievre said Canadians already are struggling with the high cost of living.

"How much tougher can things get for the 2.2 million food bank users, the people defaulting on mortgages, the small businesses closing, and the people who can't afford homes?" Poilievre said in a post on X.

"Open Parliament. Release the deal. Reveal costs to families and small business and save jobs and money for our struggling people."