Trump puts 50 percent tariffs on select goods. Canada will retaliate.
Trade Talks Fail
The Wall Street Journal reports U.S. Imposes 50% Tariffs on Some Canadian Goods After Last-Ditch Talks Fail
Trade talks between the U.S. and Canada broke down on Friday, officials from both countries said, paving the way for the U.S. to impose 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods early on Saturday and risking escalation into an all-out trade war.
However, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters that talks failed on Friday night, despite what he said was the Trump administration’s willingness to offer Canada the “best treatment” of any major U.S. trading partner. Without a deal, the new tariffs, which apply to about 5% of Canada’s U.S.-bound exports, went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday.
Carney, conversely, said Friday that last-minute changes from the U.S. side “were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal.” He said that he would impose dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods and introduce support for Canadian workers in the coming days.
“In recent weeks, we made important progress toward improving Canada’s position as having the best deal in the world with the U.S.,” Carney said in a statement. “However, that progress has not been enough to meet our objectives for Canadians.”
Many of Canada’s recent trade actions against the U.S. were put in place in retaliation for earlier levies imposed by Trump, including his sector-specific levies of up to 50% on automobiles, steel, aluminum and forest products. Though most Canadian exports have avoided those duties because they complied with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the new round of tariffs doesn’t exempt such products.
The 11th-hour collapse in negotiations injects fresh tension into a bilateral relationship between traditionally close allies that has rarely been worse. Since returning to the White House, Trump has put Canada in his crosshairs, imposing tariffs on its goods, threatening to use “economic coercion” to make it the 51st state and calling its prime ministers “governor.” The tariffs and threats against Canada’s sovereignty have enraged Canadians, many of whom have boycotted U.S. travel and products.
Polls show most Canadians support taking a hard-line approach in trade talks, even if it prolongs economic hardship. Just 18% back making concessions to get a deal, according to an Abacus Data survey this week.
Carney Responds
Please consider a Statement by Prime Minister Carney on Canada-U.S. trade negotiations
“Over the past 18 months, Canada’s new government has focused on building our strength at home, diversifying our partnerships abroad, and striking a fair deal with the United States.
Our objectives in our trade negotiations have been to:
- Preserve tariff-free access to the U.S. for the vast majority of Canadian business;
- Provide greater stability to our trade relationship;
- Significantly reduce U.S. tariffs on our key strategic industries, so that Canadian businesses in these sectors would have the best access of any in the world;
- Protect our small and medium-sized businesses – the lifeblood of our economy – including by removing the imminent threat of new tariffs; and
- Maintain our flexibility, independence, and sovereignty so we can keep building the Canada we want.
We have recognised from the beginning that America has changed, and that we will not return to our old relationship. Our government understood, before many, that America is altering all its trade relationships. Putting tariffs on its closest allies and charging for access to its vast market.
We have worked in that context. To strike a fair deal that would provide the best access to the U.S. market and greater certainty to Canadian businesses and workers. Throughout, our goal has been to secure the best deal for Canadians, never a deal at any price or on any deadline.
In recent weeks, we made important progress toward improving Canada’s position as having the best deal in the world with the U.S.
However, that progress has not been enough to meet our objectives for Canadians. As a result, this evening, I have decided to suspend trade negotiations with the U.S. and have directed Canada’s negotiators to return to Ottawa. They have worked hard, in good faith, to defend the interests of Canadians throughout these negotiations up until the very last minute. However, last-minute changes in the U.S. proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal.
At midnight tonight, the U.S. intends to impose a 50% tariff on roughly $28 billion of Canadian goods. Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses.
In the coming days, the government will introduce additional measures to support Canadian workers and businesses, building on the nearly $25 billion in support provided over the past 18 months.
These actions complement Canada’s core economic strategy. From day one, we have been focused on building our strength at home and diversifying our partnerships abroad.
That strategy is working. We are advancing nearly $500 billion in major infrastructure projects. In parallel, we are unlocking new export markets for Canadian businesses. Our existing free trade deals already provide Canada with preferential access to 1.5 billion consumers, and we are on track to double that market access by the end of this year.
Canadian economic growth is accelerating, and we are on course to have the second-fastest growth in the G7 over the next two years. Our economy is creating jobs at four times the rate of the United States. Our exports to non-U.S. markets are on track to double over the next decade. Foreign direct investment in Canada is at its highest level in two decades, running at twice the rate of our nearest G7 competitor. Canada now ranks as the most attractive country in the world for infrastructure investment.
Canada has what the world wants. And we will not allow any nation to determine our future. We will set our own course to keep building Canada strong for all.”
Books Will Be Written
That’s an excellent interview. Play it.
Why Bullying Doesn’t Work
A Lose-Lose Proposition
Trade wars are a lose-lose proposition.
I have many times stated that the correct response to tariffs is to lower them to zero no matter what other nations do.
I now wonder if that applies when dealing with an economic idiot who does not honor any deal he makes, and always wants more.
The question is moot however, because politically speaking it is impossible to not retaliate.
In this case, only 18 percent of Canadians don’t want Carney to respond.
What Trump Understands
The only thing Trump understands is force.
Trump has backed down on China every time China responded to his tariffs by cutting off rare earth elements and magnets.
Due to the political requirement to retaliate, Carney needs to smack Trump in the face as hard as he can with an economic 2 by 4.
An export ban on Canadian oil to the US and/or a ban on Canadian auto parts to the US would do exactly that. Then we would see how Trump deals with $7.00 diesel and no cars for sale.
Because some Canadian oil exporters are shut down for scheduled repairs, the price of diesel is poised to blast higher anyway.
However, I would prefer to see Carney give Trump a swift smack to the face with that 2 by 4.
Iran shows the way. Now it’s Canada’s chance.
Dear Mark Carney, please shut off all oil and car parts to the US and let Trump deal with it.
Trump would be demanding renegotiations in about one hour flat.
Related Posts
August 21, 2026: Trump Threatens to Use the Military on the US Bond Market. What!?
Trump responds to a reporter’s question with an answer that makes no sense.
In case you missed it, please see An Economically Illiterate Trump Attempts to Explain Interest Rates
Our President is completely illiterate when it comes to basic finance.
Trump mostly imposed high tariffs so he could lower them in return for “gifts”, “presents”, “graft”, bribes to him, 747s, gold, you name it. He’s an extortionist running a protection racket out of the White House, and causing inflation for the rest of us…a pretty big and unfair tax on food, and everything else. Tariffs are a terrible idea, but it works for Trump as he extorts the world.
Meanwhile, Canada loves China. All BS. That’s what all this is about, China. Wake up!
There will be a TACO by Monday morning
The people most affected by this stupidity are his core supporters and they were expecting his usual behavior and non event outcome.
Carney sticking it to Trump will be a surprise to maga and the markets
The guy is a strategic imbecile
Exactly lose ;ose
Canada loses
USA loses
As it is in all these negotiations.
Trump loses
Carney loses
Who cares!
14% of our economy is imported… until you get over 30% is it even worth worrying about?
What small fraction is Canada
Anybody that trusts one of the biggest banksters alive will get what they deserve. Canada will see.
Canada traded from a cheating woke master
to a cheating bankster
Thats a lose lose proposition.
And over sixty percent of your sour oil! Who needs it? Driving is woke anyways eh Grandpa?
Carney plainly stated this is about protecting jobs and businesses but Canada is losing their future. What about US jobs and businesses? This is clearly Trump derangement syndrome in action. We are the largest consumers and are the global reserve currency. What is Canada? A socialist playground of ideas living off the luck of a geographic lottery and natural resources. I bet Mexico is talking to Trump right now. Oil – Invest in Venezuela. Car parts and refineries – Invest in Mexico. Carney will chicken out because he can’t lose Alberta and oil revenue. Where am I going to expand my business? It is surely not Canada unless it is for cheap energy.
Extortion is not trade negotiation.
Requiring us to buy into the Golden Dome & get 88 of the F35s and Restricting Canada’s independent capability to sign trade deals with other international nations, OR pay 50% tariffs is extortion.
You have a classic case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Venezuela and it’s non-existent infrastructure? Perfect replacement! And I’m sure we can build those factories next Tuesday in Mexico AND redo all of the logistics too!
It’s a wonder how many people read this blog and then come down to the comments to prove their mental retardation. I’d say it’s a wonder you can wipe your ass in the morning but there’s a fair chance your nurse does that for you.
Go ahead Strong. Invest in Venezuela and Mexico. Let us know what those investments are and how they do.
Unfortunately, the world’s population minus 350m Americans has figured out that their future is working and trading with countries other than the arrogant and ignorant USA
This idea that the US can continue its momentum while completely changing how it became rich and treating its trading partners is logically moronic
The deranged clown doesn’t have any human feelings like the rest of us.
One point is that if a close ally like Canada is treated in this shabby and inexplicable way, no country can trust the US in the future anymore to respect any treaty or commitment. The second point is that the US system of checks and balances, especially as regards the role of US Congress, is not working anymore. Presidents should never be allowed to showcase and impose their economic stupidities on the country the way Trump does.
Trump never regrets anything.
He never apologizes for anything.
Because he knows:
“Those who matter don’t care, and those who care don’t matter.”
Why should Trump care? The little people suffer, but the only person Trump cares about is Trump.
Anyway, Carney will dangle out some token concessions is exchange for escalating The War On Russia.
trump has never regretted one thing in his nihilist life. he is really the perfect leader of this crumbling evil empire of nihilist voters. bombs away kids.
Russia isn’t relevant to this discussion or post.
I think you’ve outed yourself as a Russian bot or paid troll.
I am well aware of what Canadian priorities are.
Calling names and throwing out unfounded accusations is a sure way of showing that you have no arguments.
This is all about the auto and steel/aluminum sectors. That’s dominating the discussions and is the key battleground. The rest (milk, booze etc) is just window dressing that will wrap up in 5 minutes once that’s settled.
What about the US demands that Canada purchase F35s, and refrain from making separate deals with other countries?
Based on what Carney is saying, the biggest stumbling block is the US demanding to have control over who Canada can sign trade deals with, and trade with.
He certainly won’t give up Canada’s sovereignty.
Plus I’m sure he realizes that any deal he signs will soon be broken by Trump anyway.
You want your neighbors to be your friends so you can focus your attention elsewhere.
Trump is now so desperate for a supposed Win –that he is now willing to undermine a long term partner, Canada? From a Canadian Banks evaluation of things… …Canada is the single Largest trading market with America by a large margin with nearly US$350 billion goods and services crossing Canada’s border over the first 9 months of 2024. Note also that 34 U.S. states sell more goods to Canada—than any other Foreign Country. Canada is the largest buyer of American made products. Even with that major positive for America– The Trumpites decide to throw mud into the mix and cause financial turmoil anyway?
https://economics.td.com/ca-canada-us-trade-balance
He’s making the mistake of not bullying the weakest guy in the room. He should go on a jihad against Micronesia, Tuvalu, or Luxemburg.
That probably wouldn’t even work at this point. The whole world is comfortable giving him the finger. He’ll just have to cuddle up with his Binkie and sulk.
But, that plays into Trump’s blame game even more. So he still cuddles up with a third of Americans.
It’s all for domestic audience political manipulation. Trump’s pitch to the MAGA voters is: we perfect people who deserve all. good things are ripped off by others. I will lift you all by very visibly insulting and throwing those others under the bus.
Notice that productivity really has nothing to do with it, aside from the fake claim that in some ideal remote world, given the chance, we would make everything better than anyone. It may once have been true, but it has nothing to do with factories of today, etc.
Thus detached from any concrete reality, it doesn’t matter if the issue is timber or steel or whatever.
“An export ban on Canadian oil to the US and/or a ban on Canadian auto parts to the US would do exactly that. Then we would see how Trump deals with $7.00 diesel and no cars for sale.” True, but those effects would take some time to develop. If you want to smack the US in the face with a 2×4 that would have immediate impact (i.e. tomorrow), just close Canadian airspace to US commercial traffic. There is an immediate and severe economic impact to the US. Of course, the US would then close US airspace to Canadian commercial traffic. I am not advocating this, just pointing out that there are even faster methods for Canada and the US to shoot each other in the face on this trade issue than just export bans. Hopefully this won’t escalate out of control.
if one studies history long enough you will know stuff takes time. the tariff debates in US senate took almost 40 years, before it ended in a civil war in my old home of charleston SC. senators even clubbed each on floor of congress over the issue. 9.11.01 was 25 years ago. we are still reaping the affects of that. Ike caused a coup in persia almost 75 years ago and it’s still playing out……….modern folks are weaned on movies that take only a few hours
50% of fertilizer and 85% of potash comes from Canada. maybe squeeze the farmers a bit more they asked for the molester and thief maybe a little more pain is in order
cult members like evangelical MAGA farmers love the abuse. it’s part of their whole twisted rich world ethos………
It’s Christianity…. Suffering is viewed as a sacrifice by the sufferers.
What I never got was why Jesus had to sacrifice anything. His dad is the omnipotent ruler of the universe. Why didn’t He just declare it’s all good and you get into heaven if you say you’re sorry, and skip the whole cuckold meat puppet torture sequence, and making acceptance of the zombie cuckold meat puppet a condition of heavenly entry? It’s even crazier than the Mormon space god thing:
Diesel at $7 would be a small price to pay to keep the Epstein Files secret.
“Prime Minister Mark Carney and Canadian officials stated that the U.S. introduced unexpected, late modifications to terms that both sides had fundamentally agreed upon earlier in the week (standard practice by Mr. ADHD)
…The U.S. framework sought a massive “national security and economic partnership”. The late-stage disputes centred around the strictness of supply chain coordination and aggressive export controls that the Canadian team viewed as a threat to their economic sovereignty.”
Good move: it is always best to swim away from a sinking boat, otherwise it might pull you down with it. Although we have been pretty much joined at the hip from the get-go, it is never too late to jump ship and try for something better (or at least less unpalatable).
Myself, I’d rather suffer a lower standard of living than kneel down to any bully.
What about that pipeline? It would be good for both countries.
per this and your last blog topic. i believe Trump will default on UST bills,notes and bonds to select enemies of the us people. this might be harvard endowment to canada, eu….. to china……he’s a loose cannon. of course the us government has defaulted a few times since the continentals were defaulted…….99%
Trump to Canada- Anschluss
We depend now on other countries to save us, not sure why they would.
The very stable genius strikes again.
https://energynow.ca/2026/07/canadas-leverage-trump-drains-americas-emergency-oil-reserve-as-canada-supplies-63-of-us-crude-imports/
According to this article, Canada supplies 63% of US oil imports. The majority of that his heavy sour crude that US Midwest refineries are are built to process. The US drills mostly light, sweet crude that these refineries cannot process. The US is extremely vulnerable to any slowdown in Canadian oil exports, particularly now, while also blocking supply from the Middle East. Starting a trade war with Canada is just incredibly stupid.
On a personal basis, I grew up and lived many years 5 miles from the Canadian border. I have relatives in Canada, worked and went to school with Canadians, and spent considerable time in Canada. In general, I have found Canadians more educated, sensible, industrious, and friendly than US natives.
Canadians are rightly proud of the stable and prosperous society they have produced. The US could learn a great deal from Canada about how to organize a society.
We should be working to integrate our economic and trade policies. Instead the orange lunatic in the White House is doing everything possible to alienate Canada while buddying up to criminal regimes in Israel and North Korea, and economic baskets cases like Argentina and Columbia.
I am at a loss to understand why the US accepts this madness from its President.
easy answer. amerikans are majority assholes. democracy works. bombs away baby. or amerika fuck yea. i too have plenty of relatives and pals in canada. gold and miners is the way to play this the safest.
> stable and prosperous society
I live in Vancouver for 20 years, and I haven’t seen this wonderful society yet. It is a colony, where the colonial extraction management lives well while everyone else can barely survive to the next paycheque.
> I am at a loss
200+ people around the world work to provide for 1 US American.
The US needs Canada and Mexico nearby not as stable comfortable nations to make the US look bad, but as cheap, easy-to-abuse colonies with no dignity. Trump is keeping it the way it has always been – otherwise you’d have to learn what the rest of the world lives like.
Rumor has it that the negotiations broke down with the last-minute layering of “Golden Dome” requirements of money and ceding of military reservations.
Carney’s statement:
Our objectives in our trade negotiations have been to:
Preserve tariff-free access to the U.S. for the vast majority of Canadian business;
Provide greater stability to our trade relationship;
Significantly reduce U.S. tariffs on our key strategic industries, so that Canadian businesses in these sectors would have the best access of any in the world;
Protect our small and medium-sized businesses – the lifeblood of our economy – including by removing the imminent threat of new tariffs; and
Maintain our flexibility, independence, and sovereignty so we can keep building the Canada we want.
According to Carney, the big stumbling block was the US demand to control who Canada could sign trade deals with and trade with. An impossible demand for Canada to accept.
If that’s true, good for Canada. Golden Dome is maybe the most expensive boondoggle ever imagined. It won’t work unless trillions are spent on an endless stream of space-based interceptors that are required for world-wide coverage. I’m hoping that it is quickly killed in 2029 along with the Trump ‘battleship’ and the stupid order to return Ford class carriers to steam powered catapults. Trump’s military vision is D-U-M dumb and he fucks up every military system that he meddles in.
Cluster-f*ck-palooza! Will the chickens come home to roost in our glorious 250th?
Toss on ICE and USMC ballot site deployments in the midterms, get this party started!
Add to that oil embargo an electricity embargo and much the northern Midwest would be in the dark instantly.
There is a downside to an oil embargo inflicted by Canada. That being Canada is very dependent on refined product imports into the populated eastern great lakes region from the US. My understanding is progress is being made to supply Canadian refiners in the region with Alberta oil to reduce the dependency. Any way it is examined, a trade war with Canada would be very ugly for both countries.
Trump is hurting the US long term with his belligerence. He has caused Canada to understand their risk in depending on us for too much of their trade economy and therefore their economic security. Carney is responding by opening trade relationships elsewhere. I anticipate Canada exporting more aluminum, petroleum, forest and other agricultural products to markets other than the US in ever increasing amounts no matter what Trump or subsequent administrations do. Every other country on earth is taking notice.
I admire Carney’s lead and the Canadian population for standing up to Trump and his bullying.
The electrical grids between the 2 countries are very tied together. Not sure you can do a complete embargo but you can do an export tax.
Canada has been opening trade relationships elsewhere. That’s part of the problem. Trump wanted to keep Canada in its place, exporting primarily to the United States.
Canada is going to prosper greatly by establishing diverse and stable trade relationships.
The United States of America is going to get boned in the deal. We have just demonstrated to the entire world how unstable of a trade partner we are. Businesses consider that as a cost, making America expensive to deal with.
So the United States loses most of their automotive trade. In the EV market, are only product is Tesla and Musk has abandoned the company. Sales down globally. No innovations. Meanwhile, the EV market is taking off globally and China is in the lead. America is clinging to gas, losing trade partners, and blocking foreign EVs in an attempt to reverse all of this.
We will fall behind in technology, manufacturing, innovation, and soon the core education needed to sustain the technology we have. Idiocracy
unbridled greed of the insatiable state 😐 .
The night the lights went out in Washington?
Lutnick thought Carney would bend over. Now he knows.
If there is a way to screw things up Trump and his cronies will find it. It is one thing to drive a hard bargain, it is another to deal in bad faith to the extent that your opponent no longer trusts you.
15% export tax on Energy and natural resources.
As I recall recent events, Trump put tariffs in some goods from all countries and expected no response. Two countries responded with counter-tariffs, Canada being one. Trump stated that new tariffs were being imposed on some Canadian goods “because they responded”. He targeted Canada because the response was in kind. That is the definition of bullying. It had no economic goal, it was punishment for responding to an arbitrary tax.
Canada has no say about this taxation which, as a few schoolchildren might recall, is taxation without representation. A reciprocal response is appropriate on both economic and diplomatic grounds. That’s how diplomacy is conducted: appropriate and measured responses in kind.
Major purchases from Canada include electricity, aluminum, vehicles, car parts, uranium, lithium, manganese, copper, gas, oil, softwood and especially (under the radar) fertilizer which is the basis of the food chain.
Carny said Canada will match tariffs dollar for dollar, not product for product. He has options.
Canadian oil, which requires a specific type of equipment for processing, can be replaced with Venezuelan oil. The economic pressure holding back Venezuelan export contracts with non-US customers is, within a few days, going to receive game-changing support from a very unexpected direction. Watch that space closely.
Alignments and non-alignments are not always ideological. Sometimes they are common sensical.
“ Canadian oil, which requires a specific type of equipment for processing, can be replaced with Venezuelan oil. The economic pressure holding back Venezuelan export contracts with non-US customers is, within a few days, going to receive game-changing support from a very unexpected direction. Watch that space closely.”
Venezuela produces 1.2 mbpd and exports half of it to the US Gulf coast.
Canada produces 6 mbpd and 4 mbpd goes to the US (mostly the US midwest). Venezuelan oil has no way to get to the midwest. And there isn’t enough of it anyway.
And Japan, Europe, Latin America and anyone else…all they gotta do is stand up to the bully and Trump will be totally humiliated.
Like I keep saying…..
Do worry, Trump, Walrus, GOP, and democrats will find a way to make things even worse.™
Excellent post.
I agree, under the conditions of the world essentially ignoring Trump, he would be humiliated, but he would be too egotistical to recognize the fact and blunder forth in the same destructive manner,
Trump doubles down and TACOs in seemingly random order. If only I could subscribe to his feeds before everyone else, I could at least front-run all the other players (after the in-house front-run is quietly done ahead of me).
Trump is a bully, but he’s not “the bully”. The bully is the US. It’s not Trump who blew up Nordstream. These “allies” are either too stupid to recognize it or too afraid to stand up. Chumps.
BINGO. WINNER. democracy works. assholes elect assholes to do asshole things. Biden increased the tariffs on Trump’s first term tariffs. biden also rode shotgun on genocide and more in his term. obama and mccain did the coup in ukraine 12 years ago. ike did the coup in persia in 1953. amerika is an empire of voting assholes. democracy works.
Why would anyone be afraid? The US can’t take on Iran. Russia can’t take on Ukraine and it’s likely China can’t take on Taiwan. It’s all an optical illusion to make you think there is strength when there are only useless old geezers.
They’re afraid in the same way that a servant is afraid of speaking up and getting fired. They’re afraid of sanctions. Who knows why they’re afraid? We could ask Friedrich Merz or Olaf Scholz. They’re the ones who met with Biden and Trump and didn’t even make a peep about Nordstream.
Europeans like being slaves. I’ve seen more self-respect in a whipped dog.
Without constant and massive infusions of Western cash, weapons, planning, targeting, intelligence, ISR, etc., Ukraine would be toast.
You can say the exact same thing about the US. Without constant and massive infusions of Japan lending, slave labor from Latin America and beyond, and goods from China, America would be toast.
Just wait for Japan to cut off lending and China rare earths.
Neither Japan nor China has shown any willingness to do either.
I have not seen any American president call a Chinese or Japanese leader “Daddy”.
Europeans, on the othet paw….
perhaps i don’t get your point. though it cost them a million men and cost usa hundreds of billions backing ukraine…….. Russia partially or fully controls five main Ukrainian regions (oblasts and autonomous republics), seizing roughly 19% to 20% of the country’s total territory. This includes the 2014 annexation of Crimea and parts of eastern and southern Ukraine invaded in 2022: Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson
That “control” is transitory.
Canada ships oil to the Midwest, which sends back refined products. Canada has very little refining capacity. If Canada cuts the oil, US cuts gas/diesel. Alberta and Saskatchewan would not be sympathetic to Confederation if we curtailed their exports. Secession stoked. Not unimaginable that US troops would cross the border to secure crucial strategic assets.
Interesting, Albertans and Sasks are all “surrender monkeys” yearning for Trump’s dominance. Is that how it really works? Greeted with flower throwers, etc?
In the streets, the peasants happily offered their traditional maple syrup pancakes to the strapping young (testosterone-laced) conquerors.
“ Canada ships oil to the Midwest, which sends back refined products.”
Correct. “Some” Midwest PADD2 refined products are sent to Ontario.
Atlantic Canada and Quebec import a fair bit of refined product, but not from the midwest.
“Canada has very little refining capacity.”
Wrong. Canada has plenty off refining capacity. The problem is regional mismatches of refined capacity and type of output.
1.
• Canada has 16–17 refineries with ~1.9–2.0 million barrels/day of capacity.
• In 2025, refineries ran ~1.6 million b/d (about 90% utilization). gc.ca
• Canada consumes roughly 1.8–2.0 million b/d of refined products (gasoline, diesel, jet, heating oil, etc.).• This means capacity is roughly equal to demand, but not all refineries make the right products in the right places.
2. Regional mismatches
Canada’s refining system is not evenly distributed:
• Atlantic Canada & Quebec import significant volumes of refined products because:• Irving Saint John exports much of its output to the U.S.
• Quebec refineries are configured for light crude and cannot meet all regional product demand. CAPP
• Ontario imports refined products from the U.S. Midwest (PADD 2) because:• Ontario’s four refineries have lower total capacity (~386 kb/d runs in 2025). gc.ca
• Line 5 and U.S. supply chains are deeply integrated.
• Western Canada is closer to self‑sufficient but still exports and imports depending on product type.
3. Configuration limits
Canadian refineries are not configured to process all types of crude:
• Eastern refineries rely heavily on U.S. light crude imports (over three‑quarters of their feedstock). CAPP
• Canada has limited heavy‑oil refining capacity, so much oil sands crude must be refined in U.S. coking refineries. CAPP
This means Canada cannot refine all its own crude domestically even if it wanted to.
4. Product trade imbalance
• Canada exports ~20% of its refined products (mostly from Irving and Alberta). gc.ca
• Canada imports gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other products into:• Atlantic Canada
• Quebec
• Ontario
• Parts of the North
• Seasonal imports occur during maintenance turnarounds.
This two‑way flow shows Canada is not self‑sufficient in a practical sense.
Canada is now going to regret that they never built that pipeline from the west through Canadian territory to the East.
Yes. But based on the previous friendly collaborative integration of our two economies for over a century, it made much more sense to build a pipeline that serves both countries.
Canada never expected the US to stab them in the back like this.
Yup, I have wondered why Carney and the clown camp of Liberals hasn’t figured out that building a refinery in Sask./Alberta so Canada could process more of it’s own crude would not be “nation building” – sure would make Canada more secure/independent.
That and maybe 2 MM bpd pipeline to tidewater, 2 Bcf/d LNG capacity to tidewater.
US can spend money blowing up the mid-east and Canada could help the rest of the world with energy supply if we were smart. Would help us finance all of the fancy social programs as well. sigh.
You are misinformed. Alberta has 5 refineries and Saskatchewan has 2. Those refineries meet all of Canada’s needs west of Ontario.
Blaming Carney and the Liberals for something they had nothing to do with is also incorrect. I am always amazed at how politics blinds people to reality.
Help me understand. Exactly what strategic assets does the US government own in Canada that it would send in an invasion force to secure? Try to think past a sixth grade level before you comment.
None. The US government has no military bases in Canada. Just embassies and consulates. The two countries jointly operate NORAD operations, but those are Canadian assets.
That would be the oil sands providing oil to the US. The US doesn’t own these but I could see the US coming in to secure them if Canada cuts off supply to the US. Recall that Alberta has a referendum in October for greater sovereignty/secession. The rest of Canada may want to cut off/tax resources to the US, but this would piss off Alberta & Saskatchewan – and they might support the US. Rightly so, these provinces have not been treated fairly in Confederation. Denmark has beefed up their military in Greenland – their taking the threat of annexation seriously. Anything is possible with Trump.
What about the price of a 2 X 4 ?
I’m starting to horde Canadian maple-syrup.
By domestic from VT
Elbows Up Fuck Trump buy Canadian. Export tax on electricity, Oil and fertilizer.
Full agreement from this side of the pond. The orange diaper needs a smack in the face. I only wish that wanker Starmer had had more of a backbone when dealing with the orange foe.
Putin to the left of him, Trump to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.
UK and mainland Europe are the new Poland.
Old Poland is the new Poland, yet again, again.