Tuesday, October 7, 2025

WATCH LIVE!

No tariff relief for Canadians after Tuesday’s meeting in Washington

Posted:October 7, 2025 | 8:43 PM
By:Emily Tayler

Updated: October 7, 2025 | 8:43 PM

Following a friendly second meeting at the White House Tuesday afternoon, the American President said Prime Minister Mark Carney would be leaving Washington happy.

And while the PM’s team has called the negotiations “positive,” it seems there’s no relief yet on U.S. tariffs.

Following the meeting, the Minister of Canada – U.S. Trade, Dominic Leblanc, said he’ll be sticking around in Washington for more talks with Trump’s team.

Both sides have been directed to reach agreements on steel, aluminum and energy.

Carney is also reportedly having dinner with Vice President JD Vance Tuesday evening.

WATCH MORE: Prime Minister Mark Carney meets with U.S. President Donald Trump

“He’s a great prime minister, he could represent me anytime, and I’m not just saying that because he’s here,” says Trump.

Donald Trump striking a notably friendly tone on Tuesday before a closed-door meeting with Mark Carney, complimenting the Canadian Prime Minister’s negotiation skills, and making light of Trump’s 51st state comments.

“I’m running out of time now but this is important,” says Carney.

“The merger of Canada and the United States – I’m only kidding,” Trump says.

“That wasn’t where I was going,” Carney says.

Political Analyst Lori Williams says while there’s still tension, it’s clear there’s an air of respect between the leaders — which could be good for negotiations.

“It looks to me like Donald Trump sees something here that he can gain. In other words, it’s better to have a positive relationship with Canada than a negative one,” Williams says.

Trump even told reporters that Carney is going to leave Washington happy. Though he wouldn’t elaborate, only saying: “Well you’ll find out, but I think the people of Canada are going to love us again. Most still do.”

Tuesday afternoon, Minister of Canada – U.S. Trade, Dominic Leblanc called the meeting “positive,” and said the hope now is to quickly come to agreements on sector tariffs – also known as ‘section 232’ tariffs – on steel, aluminum and energy.

But for those impacted by the levies, a deal can’t come soon enough.

The United Steelworkers Union is calling for Carney to either strike a deal or bring back counter-tariffs on U.S. metals as Canada lifted its retaliatory levies last month.

“Well we believe we’ve played a long time nice in the sandbox and with the section 232’s, they’re so horrific on our economy. If this meeting doesn’t break the ice on that, I think we’re left no other option but to push back, fight back and go from there,” says Marty Warren, the Director of United Steelworkers.

Ideally the union wants to see no sector tariffs at all – but say they’d need to see those 50 per cent duties on metals drop to at least 15 per cent to feel any “relief” in the sector – which has already lost a thousand jobs across the country.

In Hamilton, Mayor Andrea Horwath is also looking for some hope for local workers.

WATCH MORE: Poilievre highlights Carney’s ‘defeats’ ahead of PM’s visit to Washington

“We’ve seen layoffs, orders have dried up, we’ve heard companies say they can hold on for a couple of months, but not for an extended period of time. Which is why I’m hoping to get some hope today, because that extended period of time is right about now,” Horwath says.

Premier Doug Ford also talking tough Tuesday morning, saying he’d be hitting the states with counter-tariffs if he was in charge.

“It’s like a kid in the school yard getting punched in the face every day, it’s time to hit back, if he can’t get a deal,” Ford says.

Political analysts say if our two countries can hammer out deals on some of the hardest hit sectors – like steel – it will likely lay the groundwork for future agreements on lumber, auto parts and the most recently announced tariff on foreign-made heavy trucks. That 25 percent levy is set to take effect Nov. 1.