Carney’s Trump Tariff Plan Should Not Be Secret Until the Tariffs Hit

If Ottawa has a serious plan for Trump’s 50 percent tariff clock, Parliament should see the written version before Canadian workers pay the price.

Mark Carney sold himself as the manager who could handle Donald Trump. That promise now has a clock on it.

Canadian Press reports that Conservative Canada-U.S. relations shadow minister Shuv Majumdar has written to the Prime Minister calling for an emergency meeting of the Standing Committee on International Trade next week. His central demand is simple: Ottawa should table its written negotiation plan for dealing with Trump’s latest tariff threat and explain it at hearings.

That is not an unreasonable ask. On July 20, Trump signed orders for 50 percent tariffs on a range of Canadian products, with the duties set to take effect in 30 days. Reporting says the list runs from hockey sticks to wine to cement, and that American officials tied the move to provincial bans on U.S. alcohol, Canada’s supply-managed dairy system and quotas on certain U.S. vehicles. CityNews also reported that, unlike many earlier tariff fights, the new duties would not include exemptions for CUSMA-compliant goods.

That last point is the alarm bell. If CUSMA compliance is no longer a shield for affected products, then Ottawa’s response cannot be another cloud of podium language about “standing ready” and “building Canada strong.” Workers, exporters, farmers, provincial governments and small manufacturers need to know what the federal government is trying to protect, what it may trade away, and what support or retaliation triggers are being prepared.

There are legitimate reasons not to publish every negotiating tactic in real time. But secrecy is not the same as strategy. Parliament does not need theatre; it needs the accountable framework. The government should publish Canada’s written asks, the American demands as Ottawa understands them, the concessions ruled out, the sectors at risk, the estimated consumer and job impacts, the CUSMA legal position, the retaliation options, the provincial consultation record and the fiscal exposure of any relief package.

Conservatives should be careful here too. This cannot become performative outrage for clips. If an emergency trade meeting happens, MPs should demand documents, dates and numbers: which departments modelled the tariff hit, which sectors were consulted, what Ottawa has already conceded, what it has refused, and what cabinet will do if the 30-day deadline arrives with no deal.

Carney asked Canadians to trust his competence. Fine. Competence has receipts. Before the tariff clock runs out, table the plan.