By Harinder Mahil

Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Washington again and met with President Trump October 7, 2025, but again it did not result in reduction in tariffs imposed on Canadian steel, aluminum, and lumber. The only difference was a change in Trump’s tone towards Canada.

One positive point of the meeting has been that Carney managed not to provoke Donald Trump into imposing even more tariffs on Canada.

We heard from Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc that behind closed doors Prime minister Carney and President Trump directed their cabinet ministers “to quickly land deals” focused on steel, aluminum and energy, LeBlanc told the media.

We will soon find out whether the meeting was successful or not. Canadians would like to see results from these talks as the tariffs are affecting the Canadian economy.

Whether there is any deal will depend on American citizens putting pressure on President Trump.

A US distillers trade group says in a new report that exports of American alcohol have seen a “significant downturn” amid ongoing trade tensions, with Canadian exports plummeting far more than any other international market.image.png The report from the Distilled Spirits Council, released October 6, says U.S. alcohol exports to Canada are down a staggering 85 per cent in the second quarter compared to the year before, falling below US$10 million

We also know that Prime Minister Carney did not go to Washington just because he felt like it. Trump invited him. The question is: what does Donald Trump want from Canada. The answer came from the comments made by Carney and others.

In a statement on October 8, the prime minister said his meeting with Trump focused on “key priorities in trade and defence”.

President Donald Trump also said in Carney’s presence that the US and Canada are “working closely” on a new “Golden Dome” missile defense project. The Golden Dome is the US’ proposed multi-layer missile defense system that Trump has proposed. Estimates are that it would cost $175 billion to develop over the next three years. Trump would like Canada to pay a share of the cost.

Carney must be careful about the “priorities” because Trump’s priorities are not necessarily Canadian priorities.

I am puzzled by Prime Minister Carney’s behaviour. He talked tough about Trump during the election campaign and said: “America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country. But these are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never ever happen….”

His argument during the election campaign was that no one was better than him to protect Canada from Donald Trump. What has happened to the tough talk since the election? The tough talk we used to hear from Carney has disappeared. Canadians feel that he is letting us down.

The Government of Canada had announced the digital services tax (DST) in 2020 and passed it into law. It required foreign and domestic businesses to pay 3 percent of revenue earned from certain digital services that rely on data and content contribution of Canadian users. Just days after Trump broke off trade talks with Canada, Ottawa rescinded the digital services tax.

Not only did Carney rescind the digital services tax but also dropped the reciprocal tariffs Canada had imposed on US goods.

What did we get in response from the US President? Since Canada rescinded the DST, President Trump has announced a 50% tariff on imported copper. This tariff took effect on August 1, 2025.

It is well known that Doanld Trump is a bully. When you give in to a bully it signals to him that his tactics are working. It simply encourages the bully to continue with his behaviour and become even more aggressive. Although you do not want to provoke a bully, you do not want to submit to his bullying behaviour either.

It is time for Carney to live up to the statements he made during the election campaign and take a real stand against Trump because hoping he will go away will not work.

Harinder Mahil is a human rights activist and is secretary of Dr. Hari Sharma Foundation.