Trump says Canada’s decision on Palestinian statehood could harm trade talks

U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff deadline is Friday and a trade deal appears increasingly unlikely between the two countries after Trump took to social media just after midnight on Thursday.

“Canada just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a trade deal with them,” Trump said in a post to Truth Social.

This follows Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement Thursday that Canada will recognize Palestine as a state at the United Nations in September if certain conditions are met.

“Preserving a two-state solution means standing with all people who choose peace over violence or terrorism. And it means honouring their innate desire for peaceful coexistence,” Carney said on Parliament Hill Wednesday.

Adding that this recognition only stands if the Palestinian Authority commit to changes. Carney says this would include a general election in 2026 that Hamas could not play part in and de-militarization in the area.

Carney says talks are covering a broad variety of topics. He says there is a lot of ground to cover including defense spending, security spending, and investments.

Trump previously sent a letter to Carney threatening to impose 35 per cent tariffs if Canada doesn’t make a trade deal by Friday.

READ MORE: Canada intends to recognize Palestinian state at United Nations assembly in September

The U.S. president also announced he is imposing 50 per cent tariffs on semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative products on Friday.

Federal Conservatives were also critical of the government’s decision on a Palestinian state.

“The Liberal government has turned its back on decades of Canadian support for Israel and has failed to stand up to riding antisemitism and extremism here at home,” the Conservative party said in a statement.

NDP foreign affairs critic heather McPherson showed her support for the decision, saying it reflects the people’s power to influence.

“On behalf of New Democrats, I congratulate those many Canadians, especially members of the Palestinian Canadian community, on this hard won victory, following months of grief, horror and frustration at Canada’s inaction,” McPherson said in a statement.

READ MORE: Hamilton commits to ‘buy local’ in future contracts ahead of new U.S. tariffs