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Kinew attacks Trump
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew launched a blistering attack on U.S. President Donald Trump as Canada weighed concessions for a trade deal, calling him a “bad person” and “not to be trusted” and urging Canada to keep fighting rather than rush to make concessions.
“calling him a “bad person” and “not to be trusted””
Kinew said Canada has leverage in the talks even as his province weighs restoring U.S. alcohol sales at Prime Minister Mark Carney’s urging to help secure a deal that would avert threatened 50% U.S. tariffs.
The Associated Press reported that Dominic LeBlanc, the federal minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, said the two countries were close to finalizing an agreement after he returned to Washington to meet again with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
LeBlanc said, “We’re very close. We continue to make progress,” and added that Canadian officials would remain in Washington to keep working on the deal.
The AP said Trump called the emerging agreement “very fair” to both sides, while tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian imports were postponed until 12:01 a.m. Saturday and neither side had released the full terms.
Alcohol becomes a flashpoint
As the trade talks advanced, the dispute over U.S. alcohol sales became a sticking point for provincial leaders, with Kinew saying Manitoba may go along with Carney’s request as part of a “Team Canada” approach.
Kinew urged consumers to keep buying Canadian even if U.S. products return to provincial liquor stores, telling reporters, “When we put the American booze back on the Liquor Mart shelves, Canadians, leave it there.”
The AP said provincial governments do not have a veto over the overall Canada-U.S. agreement, but they control measures such as liquor sales and some procurement rules that have become part of the negotiations.
It also reported that eight of Canada’s 10 provinces restrict or ban U.S. alcohol, describing the measures as retaliation for Trump’s previous tariffs on Canadian goods and amid anger over his repeated talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state.
In parallel, Radio-Canada reported that Mark Carney confirmed that “un accord avec Washington est en voie d'être finalisé,” while Donald Trump said the arrangement was “très équitable” and that new tariffs of 50% on a bouquet of Canadian products were postponed for three days.
Deadline and what’s at risk
The negotiations were framed around a looming tariff deadline, with the AP saying tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian imports were postponed until 12:01 a.m. Saturday while the full terms remained unreleased.
“Trump announced on Tuesday night a last-minute deal to push back by three days”
Le Devoir reported that Trump announced a last-minute deal to push back by three days the effective date of new tariffs on a range of Canadian products, and said Trump described it as a “good deal for everyone.”
Le Devoir also said Canada’s trade minister for Canada–U.S. affairs, Dominic LeBlanc, returned to Washington on Thursday for trade talks with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer ahead of the Saturday 12:01 a.m. deadline to finalize the agreement.
In the same reporting, Le Devoir quoted Trump saying the deal would bring all tariffs imposed on American farmers down to zero, while Carney asked provincial premiers to put American liquor back on store shelves.
The AP added that Kinew said he understood Carney’s request to mean that restoring U.S. alcohol sales was effectively necessary to complete the deal, and it quoted Kinew asking, “what is the step before begging?”