Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Discusses U.S-Canada Trade Conflict

Posted originally on the CTH on September 11, 2026 | Sundance |

Here’s the fact bomb that silences Canadians almost immediately when delivered.

In December 2024 then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, told President-elect Donald Trump that Canada could not comply with a renewed trade agreement based on reciprocity because: (1) Canada had deindustrialized; their manufacturing was now “light” manufacturing and assembling of component goods made by others. (2) Canada had legislated energy policy based on climate change, and high carbon emitting industrial production was no longer an option [coking coal burning etc.]. (3) The NATO military spending goal was too high for Canada to reach [they were 19th and it wasn’t a priority because the USA was the crutch]. (4) Internal provincial rules, restrictions and cross-border trade regulations did not align with a Canadian federal trade policy effort, and (5) the political power of the ‘dairy cartel’ inside Canada tied the hands of Canadian trade representatives.

That was the gist of it. That’s why Canada cannot now or ever find a path to a U.S. reciprocal or balanced trade agreement. #1 and #2 is specifically why Canadian govt officials repeatedly use the word “intertwined.” They say intertwined because they can no longer function separately. Canada is economically dependent on proximal and economic subsidies from the United States.

That outline by Trudeau led Trump to say that Canada should then become a 51st state….. And, well, you know the rest. Someone in Canada should ask Trudeau about it. The former Prime Minister has no reason to deny it, and too many people were witness. Then, perhaps, Canadians will understand.

Historian and political Pundit Victor Davis Hanson gives his review of the current status. I would refute the point that VDH makes about Mark Carney “not knowing what he is doing” and the resulting chaos will come as a surprise.

VDH is well intentioned. However, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney knows exactly what he is doing. Carney’s antagonism is a feature of his commonwealth alignment with the European union, and understanding that takes you to a very dark place in this geopolitical dynamic.