U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States probably has a deal with Canada on Wednesday, 19 August ’26. This was a day after he delayed new 50% tariffs on Canadian goods. Also, implying that the Keystone XL pipeline may be awoken from the grave.
Later in the day, Prime Minister Mark Carney met with the nation’s first ministers to discuss the details of the tentative deal. The meeting was with several premiers confirming that Carney had asked the provinces, besides territories, to put US booze back on the shelves.
Multiple provincial sources told CTV News that whilst they share cautious optimism over a potential agreement, a deal was yet pending.
PM Carney asks premiers to return U.S. booze to shelves
Following a virtual 1st ministers’ meeting, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said that Prime Minister Mark Carney had asked the provincial leaders to return U.S. alcohol to the shelves.
During a virtual media conference on Wednesday, 19 August, Houston suggested that the request may have originated directly from the negotiating table. Additionally, Houston indicated that he might be willing to take action for the prime minister at this time.
Houston added that whether Nova Scotians or Canadians will actually buy it when it returns to the shelves may be a whole other topic of discussion.
Provincial sources say the trade deal is not concluded yet
Multiple provincial sources are sharing cautious optimism with CTV News. This optimism is following a briefing with Carney on the tentative trade deal between Canada & the U.S. They, however, emphasised that the deal hasn’t been done yet.
In a post to Truth Social, late Tuesday, 18 August, Trump said the countries have a deal. However, sources say that characterisation isn’t accurate, so further negotiations are yet underway.
The provincial sources also told CTV News that Carney personally asked the premiers to return U.S. alcohol to store shelves. Carney added that he would accept any public pushback if that decision is made.
