As Carney Stands Tall Against Trump, the Timing Is Ideal

If a country had to pick a moment to strike back with targeted countervailing tariffs at the Donald Trump administration’s habitual bad-faith trade bargaining, surely it would be difficult to imagine a better moment than the day after Labour Day 2026.

As is now well understood by almost everybody on both sides of the world’s longest undefended border, tariffs are going to hit us all regardless of whether we live in the United States or Canada.

But unlike the president of the United States, Canada’s head of government isn’t facing a crucial midterm election only two months later. That’s long enough for Canadian counter-tariffs that really bite to be noticed south of the Medicine Line , but gives the American administration a couple of weeks to think about the implications of that.

One would think it would be a powerful incentive for Donald Trump to TACO and send his negotiators back to the table without the last-minute attack on Canadian sovereignty that killed the deal Friday night.

A little earlier and the likely American counter-counter-response might have hurt too much. A little later and it might have been too late for American voters to notice before the midterms. To paraphrase Dr. Johnson , it remains to be seen if this is enough to concentrate Trump’s mind, what’s left of it, wonderfully.

This probably explains why Canadian provincial and federal leaders of all political stripes immediately closed ranks behind Prime Minister Mark Carney, the leader who had the awful responsibility of deciding whether or not to pull the plug on “negotiations” with a government that was capable of neither making an agreement nor sticking to it.

Why, even federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre appears to be onside, vowing in a social media statement Saturday that “Conservatives will always put our country first.” He added, “Conservatives support action to protect Canadians and our industries targeted by these unfair U.S. tariffs.”

There was only one exception. It was Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, of course.

Smith piously insisted tariffs are always a terrible thing and Canada should immediately roll over to the United States.

On her Saturday morning bimonthly radio program, Alberta’s United Conservative Party premier reluctantly agreed that Carney was right to withdraw from bargaining.

But she indicated she wanted no part of taking effective countermeasures — especially if Canada’s richest province has to do its part and feel some of the pain along with everyone else.

“I know, emotionally, it feels good to retaliate, I get that, but let’s remember what happens when we retaliate,” she complained to a softball question pitched by the radio program’s tame host.

A statement on social media late Friday evening came closer to what she likely really thinks: “Alberta will continue to advocate for a strong tariff free relationship between Canada and the U.S.,” she said. “I will be urging the federal government to restart negotiations as soon as possible.”

So, while Ontario’s Conservative premier, Doug Ford, said “Ontario is ready to do its part,” his Alberta Conservative counterpart tacitly indicated, Forget about it.