‘Indefensible’: B.C. Premier Eby responds to collapsed Canada-U.S. trade talks
Published 12:16 pm Saturday, August 22, 2026
B.C. Premier David Eby worked to reassure British Columbians that Canada will stand strong against U.S. tariffs after a potential trade deal collapsed.
Eby held a press conference Saturday (Aug. 22) in Vancouver to address the collapsed Canada-U.S. trade talks. He called the incoming U.S. tariffs “inexplicable and indefensible.”
He said many British Columbians woke up to the news Saturday of the latest in the Canada-U.S. trade war. The premier said he hesitated to call the talks a negotiation.
The latest trade talks, Eby said, really revealed the true nature of what Americans are seeking in terms of relationship with Canada.
However, he said the current U.S. administration “cannot be trusted.” Eby added that even if an agreement was signed, there’s no guarantee it could last.
“No deal is better than a bad deal,” Eby said, noting that he’s heard that from his colleagues.
Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a statement late Friday, explaining the new tariffs and why the federal government is walking away from a bad deal and what comes next.
Carney said Canada’s tariffs will be concentrated in sectors such as steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper and electronics.
The statement says the tariffs will also include products currently subject to “the unjustified Section 232 and 338 tariffs.”
“In short, they asked too much and offered too little.”
Canada will be matching the United States’ new tariffs dollar-for-dollar. The tariffs are set to come into force the Tuesday after Labour Day, with further details to come.
Eby said U.S. alcohol products will still not be returning to B.C. Liquor Store shelves.
That move from B.C. to remove U.S. alcohol products from government stores appeared to be a sticking point with the United States, with the White House specifically mentioning it when the tariffs were first announced.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the 50-per-cent tariffs against Canada in late-July.
Trump signed three proclamations, according to the White House on July 20, that would impose additional 50-per-cent tariffs on certain Canadian goods “in response to Canada’s discriminatory treatment of American products.”
Carney said Canada’s objectives in these latest talks have been to preserve tariff-free access to the U.S. for the vast majority of Canadian business and provide greater stability to our trade relationship. As well as to significantly reduce U.S. tariffs on key strategic industries, so that Canadian businesses in these sectors would have the best access of any in the world.
He said that for over a year, Canada has worked “intensively and in good faith with the United States to negotiate a new comprehensive trade deal.”
He said the U.S. has “continually changed their rationale” for their actions from fentanyl to taxes on U.S. tech giants, the certification of U.S. aircraft, the sharing of tolls of a bridge that Canada built and paid for, Canada’s dairy policy, provincial decisions to not sell American alcohol during a trade war and more.
More to come.
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