Jivani calls Carney’s dollar-for-dollar tariff response an ‘overreaction’ that will ‘accelerate conflict’

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OTTAWA — Outspoken Ontario Conservative MP Jamil Jivani says that Prime Minister Mark Carney is erring in trying to “accelerate conflict” with the U.S., after cross-border trade talks broke down late Friday night.

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Jivani told National Post that Carney struck the wrong tone in a fiery missive, sent just before the midnight deadline, vowing to match imminent 50 per cent tariffs on some Canadian goods “dollar for dollar.”

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“It’s one thing for (Carney) to come to Canadians and say, ‘look, we’re not able to sign a trade deal today.’ It’s another thing for him to go back to this, you know, anti-American sentiment where, essentially, he’s arguing that this relationship is not as consequential as many people believe it is,” said Jivani.

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Jivani said that Carney’s announcement of matching dollar-for-dollar tariffs was an “overreaction” that reflected his broader lack of a long-term, strategic focus on Canada’s relationship with its southern neighbour and biggest customer.

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”I do think it’s an overreaction,” said Jivani.

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“We can’t lose sight of the fact that it didn’t have to play out this way,” he added. “And maybe this is why trying to figure out these complicated, nuanced things in a matter of hours instead of weeks is a bad idea.”

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Jivani said that Carney and his negotiating team made the critical mistake of not getting serious about making a new trade deal with the U.S. until U.S. President Donald Trump raised the threat of 50 per cent Section 338 tariffs last month.

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“This has been months and months, in my view, of setting the stage for this to fail … At the end of the day, I think we have to hold the prime minister accountable for not putting his best foot forward,” said Jivani.

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Jivani, a close friend and former classmate of U.S. Vice President JD Vance, added that the Carney government “actively tried to discourage” he and other stakeholders with high-level U.S. contacts from trying to assist trade negotiations.

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The MP, who represents the Ontario riding of Bowmanville—Oshawa North, said in a social media post shortly after midnight that it was a “solemn moment for hundreds of thousands families across Canada” that Carney and Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford deserved much of the blame for.

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“Make no mistake. Since the beginning, in their public communications, Liberal politicians like Mark Carney and Doug Ford have put their political self-interests ahead of Canadian workers,” wrote Jivani in the lengthy post.

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Jivani admitted that the post came at an emotional moment for him but said he stood behind his criticisms of the two leaders.

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“It is fair to say that Mark Carney and Doug Ford are very similar, especially insofar as their political brands seem to really be built as a reaction to the United States,” said Jivani.