Canadians don’t trust Trump either

The resumption of trade negotiations between Ottawa and Washington comes at a time when social surveys and opinion polls in Canada indicate a relative majority of Canadian citizens distrust Donald Trump’s promises. In this context, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that trade talks with the United States would resume following Canada’s decision to cancel a digital services tax targeting American tech giants. However, Canada’s financial markets remain cautious and are monitoring the negotiations with skepticism.

The issue is clear: at any moment, Trump could make a sudden decision during trade negotiations with Canada — either based on a flimsy pretext or simply due to his inherent overreach. After Trump’s return to the White House, both Canada and Mexico faced import tariffs of up to 25%. These tariffs, imposed under the pretext of combating the smuggling of the synthetic opioid fentanyl from Canada and Mexico into the U.S., were directed at exports from the two countries.

In response, the Canadian government tried to prevent a drop in its exports to the U.S. by initiating trade talks with the Trump administration. However, just days ago, Trump announced a suspension of these talks in retaliation for Canada’s insistence on taxing American tech firms. The talks only resumed after Canada backed down from its position.

Yet this vague and unstable cycle could repeat itself at any time. Trump has repeatedly referred to Canada as "the 51st state of America" and even openly interfered in Canada’s most recent general election in support of the Conservative Party — the political faction aligned with the U.S. Republicans. Nonetheless, a rise in nationalist sentiment among Canadians led voters to rally behind the Liberal Party (which both former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and current PM Mark Carney belong to).

In any case, the reaction of Canadian markets and public opinion to the restart of Ottawa–Washington trade talks clearly shows that even within North America, there is minimal trust in the U.S. president and his political or trade promises. Under such circumstances, the Carney administration is understandably refraining from expressing any optimism regarding the new round of negotiations with Washington.