Carney retreats on $30B U.S. tariffs as Canadians lose faith in Liberal approach

Facing a voter backlash over an escalating trade war with the United States that has seen few wins for Canadians, Carney’s government has caved and walked back $30 billion in retaliatory tariffs.

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Facing a voter backlash over an escalating trade war with the United States that has seen few wins for Canadians, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government has caved and walked back $30 billion in retaliatory tariffs.

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the Privy Council pollsters’ report titled, Continuous Qualitative Data Collection Of Canadians’ Views, says fear of an “ongoing cycle of retaliation” has stalled Ottawa’s approach to trade relations, which Prime Minister Mark Carney had previously called a calculated strategy.

“Most indicated a preference for a negotiation-based approach. The view was expressed by many that while they felt it was important for the federal government to stand its ground and continue to protect the economic interests of Canadian households and businesses, they did not want to see Canada become involved in an ongoing cycle of retaliation that included increasingly high tariffs and counter tariffs,” reads the Privy Council report.

“Discussing whether their feelings about Canada’s relationship with the United States had changed over time and whether they were feeling better or worse about the relationship now compared to earlier in 2025, most reported feeling worse.”

The report, compiled by Toronto pollster Strategic Counsel, cost taxpayers $1.6 million and spurred a quick reaction from the Carney government, which suspended retaliatory tariffs on Aug. 22.

“This is a big game, when you go hard in the corners, your elbow’s up. The time in a game, we drop the gloves in the first period and send a message, and we’ve done that,” Carney told at the time,

“But there’s also a time in a game when you want the puck, you want to stick handle, you want to pass, you want the puck in the net, and we’re moving later into the game. We’re at that time of the game.”

When asked whether such measures would garner favour with U.S. President Donald Trump, Carney said it was an “opportunity to build” on the nations’ ongoing relationship.

However, many Canadians’ faith has begun to dwindle as the trade war wears on. When participants were asked if they felt the federal government “was on the right or wrong track” regarding Canada-U.S. issues, the majority expressed that they were “largely uncertain.”

“Discussing whether they felt the Government of Canada was performing well in its efforts to protect Canadian industries from the impacts of U.S. tariffs, participants were mixed in their opinions,” the report concluded.