
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks about the trade dispute with the United States at the Davie Shipyard in Levis, Quebec, Canada on August 24, 2026.
ANDREJ IVANOV/AFP via Getty Images
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ANDREJ IVANOV/AFP via Getty Images
The United States was scheduled to impose new 50 percent tariffs on Canada, hitting about $20 billion worth of goods.
But then, about a week ago, President Trump took to Truth Social to exclaim — with capital letters and exclamation points — that Canada and the U.S. had reached a trade deal.
That deal, it turned out, was not final. Three days later, Canada walked away from the negotiating table.
Trump then imposed the new tariffs he'd originally promised on many Canadian products. And to threaten even more tariffs on Canadian autos.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canada won't back down — and promised to match U.S. tariffs quote “dollar for dollar.â€
But what's the view from inside his country, and who is going to pay the price?
This episode was produced by Alejandra Marquez Janse and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane.Â
Our director is Jonas Adams.
Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning, who edited this episode along with Patrick Jarenwattananon.
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