Trump Accuses Canada of Wanting 'Benefits of Being a State, Without Being One'

OTTAWA, Ontario —

President Donald Trump accused Canada of wanting "the benefits of being a State, without being one" in a Truth Social post on Sunday, a day after Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada announced a wave of retaliatory tariffs on American goods, France 24 reported.

"They have also charged our great farmers, for many years, massive amounts of Tariffs. No more!!!" Trump wrote, according to France 24.

Talks Collapse, Tariffs Take Effect

The dispute followed the breakdown of trade negotiations in Washington on Friday. New U.S. tariffs of 50 percent on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, about 5.5 percent of Canada's exports to the United States, took effect Saturday, hitting products including cement, hockey sticks, wine and furniture, according to ABC Australia.

Carney responded by announcing Canadian countermeasures matching the U.S. tariffs "to the dollar," targeting American steel, dairy products, paper goods, farm machinery and electronics, according to RFI. The Canadian tariffs take effect September 8, 2026. RFI reported that the dairy and farm equipment measures could hit Trump's rural political base directly, noting that Canada takes 13 percent of U.S. dairy exports and that U.S. fertilizer prices have risen 20 percent since Trump's second term began, ahead of midterm elections in November.

"You're at war when you get attacked. We got attacked," Carney said, according to France 24. He said U.S. negotiators had tried at the last minute to restrict Canada's ability to strike trade deals with other countries and had raised objections to French-language subsidies, French-language media rules and bilingual product labeling in Quebec, calling the demands unacceptable.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Fox News that Washington was "moving forward with measures that respond to Canadian retaliation" and said no further talks with Canada were scheduled, according to RFI. Greer told The New York Times that the U.S. had offered to cut tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos and drop a lumber tariff, calling it the most favorable treatment offered to any trading partner, France 24 reported.

Political Reaction on Both Sides

Ontario Premier Doug Ford backed Carney's decision to walk away, telling reporters Trump "can't be trusted" and comparing him to someone who "would steal your lunch money," according to France 24. Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre also urged Canadians to unite against the tariffs, ABC Australia reported.

In the United States, Democratic officials criticized Trump's approach. New York Governor Kathy Hochul wrote on X that the president was "needlessly picking fights with our allies and raising prices here at home," according to France 24. The Business Roundtable, representing 200 major U.S. companies, warned the tariffs could raise costs for American businesses and families and urged both governments to return to the table, France 24 reported.

Canada currently sends about 70 percent of its exports to the United States, according to France 24.