by Matt Mercer
Canada’s anti-Trump government is choosing closer ties with China — a move that will accelerate the country’s economic decline under the leadership of far-left Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The last-minute rejection of a trade deal with the United States and subsequent spin in media from Carney and other Liberal Party members was not the first move away from Western values. It was the latest in a concerted effort to poke their neighbor, which happens to be the world’s only existing superpower.
Carney’s election in 2025 was driven by a frenzy he and his fellow Liberal Party leaders whipped up following concerns over trade and tariff policies destined to change when President Trump took office for his second term. Trump’s concerns over trade were not exactly new, as the U.S. – Mexico – Canada Agreement (USMCA) was an improvement over the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) but was imperfect. One of the clauses built into the deal was a review of shortcomings, which U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer initiated July 1.
The Canadian Liberal Party maintained close ties to U.S. Democrats for over a decade, hosting former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at events, while also employing political operatives from the Democratic National Committee. Carney took an unprecedented step this year by naming one, Maia Johnson, to lead his office in a newly created Chief Operating Officer role while also managing Canadian-U.S. relations.
In January 2026, Canada and China agreed to a new trade deal. Under the terms of the agreement, Canada allowed China to dump 49,000 electric vehicles into the country at a most favored nation rate of 6.1 percent, replacing a previous 100 percent tariff. In exchange, China agreed to lower tariffs on Canadian canola seed to 15 percent.
Carney called the agreement the beginning of “a new world order” and talked glowingly of the two nations being “strategic partners.” This despite the fact 73 percent of Canada’s exports come to the U.S., compared to just 4.4 percent to China.
Canada implemented retaliatory tariffs on up to $20 billion in U.S. goods in early September despite warnings from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent not to do so. Bessent warned Canada that with trade uncertainty, companies faced with the choice of moving production will choose the United States.
President Trump immediately identified concerns over the two nations’ deal, writing that if Carney was going to “make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken. China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life.”