Should Canada have taken the U.S. deal?

Prime Minister Mark Carney attends a news conference at the 2026 Canada Investment Summit in Toronto, on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)Social SharingLISTEN | FRONT BURNER:Front Burner23:47Should Canada have taken the U.S. deal? It's been almost a month now since trade talks between the U.S. and Canada collapsed and Mark Carney's government walked away from a deal. Canadian retaliatory tariffs went into effect earlier this month and yet more U.S. tariffs hit this week. A new deal between the two countries is nowhere in sight. 

By and large — Canadians support this.

But Sean Speer sees this a bit differently: he's wondering if Canada really should have walked away from the table, and asks if Canadians – in all their righteous anger – are thinking clearly about the path we're on now.

Speer is the editor-at-large of The Hub and a former senior economic advisor to Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

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