National News

LeBlanc meets with U.S. trade rep in Washington as tariff deadline nears

By The Canadian Press

Published 10:57 PDT, Thu August 13, 2026

By The Canadian Press staff

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is set to meet with United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff deadline approaches.

A new round of 50 per cent tariffs on a range of Canadian goods is set to take effect Aug. 19.

Unlike most of Trump’s other tariffs, these would have no exemptions for goods that comply with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement on trade, widely known as CUSMA.

LeBlanc and Janice Charette, Canada's chief trade negotiator, have been in Washington since Monday and Thursday's meeting will be their second with Greer this week.

Greer has said the threatened tariffs are a response to provincial bans on U.S. liquor, Canada's supply managed dairy system and quotas on certain U.S. vehicles.

CUSMA was negotiated during the first Trump administration to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford called on Ottawa to get a "fair deal" that protects the auto, steel, aluminum, forestry, manufacturing and agricultural sectors.

"We'd be more than happy to bring booze back on the shelves, only if we have a deal that's going to protect those sectors," Ford said.

"Every single tariff we have to match tariff-for-tariff. We can't negotiate through weakness. They can't put tariffs on our autos and we aren't putting tariffs on theirs."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2026. 

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