Mark Carney said on Monday that while American negotiators saw the French language in Canada as an \u201cirritant \u2026 in Quebec, these are rights,\u201d days after receiving widespread praise from political leaders for rejecting a US trade proposal that many perceived as weakening the country\u2019s Francophone culture.<\/p>\n
The prime minister\u2019s remarks came hours after the US president, Donald Trump<\/a>, showed little interest in retreating from the spat, posting on social media that Canada had been \u201cripping off the United States of America for years\u201d and threatening a swath of new, economically devastating tariffs on cars and trucks.<\/p>\n Carney instructed his negotiators to walk away from trade talks last week. Tariffs<\/a> on an array of Canadian products took effect over the weekend, affecting around 5% of Canada\u2019s exports to the US, and Canada said it will retaliate in early September.<\/p>\n On Monday, Carney toured a shipyard with Quebec\u2019s premier, telling attendees Canada<\/a> \u201ccould not accept\u201d a proposed trade deal that would have weakened French language protections after trade talks collapsed between the two countries last week, adding that his government \u201cwill not give what they have asked\u201d.<\/p>\n The prime minister\u2019s decision to abandon trade talks with the US spurred declarations from political leaders and pundits in Canada that the country is now fully locked into an economic war with its longtime ally.<\/p>\n Quebec, Canada\u2019s predominantly French-speaking province, has long sought to protect its distinct identity, at times with laws that clashed with the federal government<\/a> and the Canadian charter of rights and freedoms.<\/p>\n In recent years those rules have also frustrated US negotiators, who have framed them as trade irritants. Bill 96, for example, requires products sold in Quebec to have a French description and for trademarks using generic terms to be translated into French, while Bill 109 compels media services such as Netflix, Spotify and Apple to promote and prioritize French content for Quebec users.<\/p>\n Quebec\u2019s premier, Christine Fr\u00e9chette, said Carney had made the right decision in walking away from talks that looked to cross a \u201cred line\u201d for Francophones.<\/p>\n \u201cOur culture, our language is central to our identity and it is important to exclude that from the negotiation table,\u201d she told reporters over the weekend. \u201cIt\u2019s something that is crucial for us and it won\u2019t change, even though we are threatened with different tariffs, it won\u2019t change. We will stay the way we are.\u201d<\/p>\n Polling from earlier in the month shows that dislike for Trump is highest in Quebec. Separatists in the province have seen a sharp decline in support<\/a> amid the economic wounds inflicted by the US.<\/p>\n Last week, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the sovereigntist politician most likely to emerge victorious in upcoming provincial elections, said his party would delay a possible referendum into seceding from Canada until Trump is out of office. He wrote that deciding Quebec\u2019s political fate \u201cmust not be hijacked by the upheaval of American politics, the outbursts of an unpredictable president or by a campaign of fear\u201d.<\/p>\n The Quebec Federation of Chambers of Commerce (FCCQ) called the tariffs a \u201cworst-case scenario\u201d for the province\u2019s businesses.<\/p>\n \u201cQuebec, in fact, has been the most affected by these tariffs since the very beginning of this trade war,\u201d Fr\u00e9chette said. \u201cIn all our regions, businesses risk losing contracts. In fact, it has already begun.\u201d<\/p>\n On Monday, Trump\u2019s top trade representative, Jamieson Greer, called reports that French language protections were up for debate a \u201ca funny fake story\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is not true,\u201d Greer told CNBC. \u201cI like the Quebecois and I like that they speak French.\u201d He said both he and his sons speak the language.<\/p>\n He claimed the issue at stake was that Americans did not like Canada \u201cforcing\u201d streaming giants in the US to pay some of their profits to support Canadian content. Canada had already dropped that position, however, previously abandoning elements of digital services tax.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand why the Quebecois want to have French language content. We think that\u2019s a really valuable thing and we encourage countries to really put their own country first and put their national identity first.\u201d<\/p>\n Carney rejected that framing, telling reporters it was not \u201cfunny\u201d and there was an \u201cenormous spread\u201d in perspectives.<\/p>\n Also on Monday, Trump redoubled his efforts to wage economic war against his country\u2019s longtime political, security and economic ally.<\/p>\n \u201cCanada has been ripping off the United States of America for years,\u201d Trump wrote on social media<\/a>. Criticizing Canada\u2019s \u201cridiculously high tariffs\u201d on American farmers, Trump wrote: \u201cNot sustainable, and not anymore!\u201d<\/p>\n