STORY: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Saturday (August 22) he had suspended trade negotiations with the United States after talks failed to produce a deal, accusing Washington of using economic integration "as a weapon" against its allies.

"Our government understood before many that America would transform all of its commercial relationships, that it would put a series of tariffs on its closest allies and use economic integration as a weapon. We recognized that sometimes its signature was written in pencil," Carney said in a spirited speech from the Parliament building in Ottawa. "We cannot accept what they have offered, and we will not give what they have asked."

After days of intense negotiations, the two countries failed to reach a trade deal late Friday, worsening an already delicate relationship between the two long-term trade partners and allies and complicating the future of a highly successful continental free trade pact called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA (AUGUST 22, 2026) (CBC - No use Canada.)

1. CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER MARK CARNEY WALKING TO PODIUM

2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER MARK CARNEY SAYING:

"For over a year, Canada has worked intensively and in good faith with the United States to negotiate a new comprehensive trade deal. We've been pragmatic, patient and persistent. We pursued every opportunity to reach an agreement that protects Canadian workers and their families, that strengthens our economy and that respects Canadian sovereignty.

We've been under no illusions. We recognized from the start that America has changed. Early last year in this room, I observed that the decades long process of steadily increasing integration between our economies was over. Our government understood before many that America would transform all of its commercial relationships, that it would put a series of tariffs on its closest allies and use economic integration as a weapon. We recognized that sometimes its signature was written in pencil."

3. WHITE FLASH

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER MARK CARNEY SAYING:

"The bonds between Canadians and Americans are long, and they remain strong. A mutually beneficial trade agreement is possible, one that respects our sovereignty. One that builds on our complementary strengths. One that lowers costs for families on both sides of the border. One that creates good jobs for our workers. Canada, Canada has always worked towards these goals - even while America's attention and dedication to them have wavered. We've consistently proposed long term partnerships while America has often pursued short term transactions. The gap between partnership and competitor, unfortunately, has remained too wide in recent days. So last evening I instructed our negotiators to return to Ottawa. We cannot accept what they've offered, and we will not give what they've asked."

5. WHITE FLASH

6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER MARK CARNEY SAYING:

"Canada has made offers to secure a fair, comprehensive deal that would be in the best interests of Canadians. We were willing to drop our remaining retaliatory tariffs on strategic sectors, particularly steel, aluminum and autos, if, if the United States substantially lowered theirs to levels that made it economic for Canadian companies to export to the United States. In exchange for a fair deal, we would encourage our provinces to return U.S. alcohol to the shelves, and we would take administrative measures to protect supply management without changing the system itself, the US quotas or the tariffs that would apply.

There were some things we wouldn't do. We were not prepared to compromise Canada's sovereignty or to undermine our key industries."

(FRENCH - ROUGH TRANSLATION:) "We were not prepared to compromise our sovereignty, the protection of the French language and our culture. To my American colleagues, let's be clear: for my government and for Canada, this was never a question on the table, even if the United States tried until the last minute."

(ENGLISH:) Now, in recent weeks, there had been important progress made towards a possible agreement, an agreement that would have reinforced Canada's position as having the best deal in the world with the United States, including by securing the best terms for each of our most important strategic sectors, and by providing greater certainty about our future trading relationship. And while we believed earlier this week that we were moving towards, moving towards a mutually beneficial agreement, in recent days the United States proposed new terms that were uneconomic, unfair and undermined the net benefits for Canada and called into question the reliability of any deal. In short, they asked too much and they offered too little. More fundamentally, the cumulative effect of U.S. demands revealed the limits of their commitment to a true economic partnership.

As I said earlier, as a result, last evening I suspended trade negotiations with the United States and directed our negotiators to return to Ottawa."