Canadians Want Tariff Retaliation as Faith in Carney's Negotiations Wanes

Mark Carney's position on tariffs has shifted significantly since he was running for Liberal leadership. Back then, he said that dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs by Canada should be a given and aimed at impacting the US hardest.

However, after becoming Prime Minister, Carney changed his stance, citing that our economy is only a tenth the size of the US, making it unrealistic to impose counter-tariffs. He removed most of Canada's existing counter-tariffs on US imports but maintained sectoral tariffs on steel, aluminum, and autos.

An Angus Reid Institute survey found that 62% of Canadians now want Carney to hit back at the US with counter-tariffs, including 34% who think he should match US tariffs with equal counter-tariffs. Only 19% wanted him to continue negotiating without imposing counter-tariffs.