Prime Minister Mark Carney and Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc leave a news conference about Canada’s response to new U.S. tariffs on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Patrick Doyle
By The Canadian Press
Aug 27, 2026 | 2:00 AM
OTTAWA — Canada-U.S Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc says the United States has confirmed that Canada’s protections of language and culture won’t be the subject of future trade actions.
LeBlanc made the announcement on social media, saying Canada looks forward to “further constructive U.S. clarifications on their other positions which would create the possibility of a mutually beneficial trade agreement that respects Canadian sovereignty.”
Tensions between the two countries have continued to worsen since trade talks fell apart last week.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said over the weekend that an agreement had become untenable, accusing U.S. negotiators of trying to limit Canada’s ability to have other trade deals, restricting Canada’s protections of language and culture and reducing tariffs for cars but not trucks.