Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as officials race against the clock to secure a new trade deal before new 50 per cent tariffs go into effect Wednesday.
That comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday he expects to speak with U.S. President Donald Trump before that day, but was tight-lipped on the state of talks.
LeBlanc was accompanied by Canada’s chief negotiator Janice Charette at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C., on Monday afternoon, LeBlanc’s office said.
This was the sixth meeting between LeBlanc and Greer in the last three weeks, as officials hope to present a draft deal to Carney and Trump for their approval before Wednesday’s tariff deadline.
Trump has vowed to hit Canada with new sweeping 50 per cent tariffs on a wide range of goods in response to what the U.S. calls “discriminatory” measures, including boycotts by Canadian provinces of American alcohol in response to the U.S. trade war launched in early 2025.
Trump signed three executive orders last month, each one using a different justification for the new tariff: the provincial and territorial boycotts on American alcohol products, Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S.-made vehicles and auto parts, and quotas on American dairy imports under Canada’s supply management system.
In early 2025, numerous Canadian provinces removed U.S. alcohol from their shelves in response to Trump’s trade war and threats to make Canada the “51st state.”
Carney was in St. John’s on Monday for a joint press conference with Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham and Quebec Premier Christine Frechette.
He was asked whether he expects to speak with Trump over the phone before Wednesday.
“The short answer is, yes,” Carney said.
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“We’ll have opportunities over the next 48 hours to discuss in more detail as the negotiations go forward,” he added.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford called for a “united Team Canada approach” in navigating the U.S. trade war.
“Workers and businesses across Ontario continue to be threatened by U.S. tariffs, including President Trump’s latest threat of new tariffs of up to 50 per cent. Ontario will be prepared for any and every scenario,” Ford said during a speech at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) annual conference in Ottawa on Monday.
Canadians “have grown tired of seeing our country used as a punching bag,” Conservative critic for Canada-U.S. relations Shuv Majumdar said in a statement.
“Yet we share a common hope that Prime Minister Carney will deliver a genuine win at the negotiating table. Canada confronts a tough and often unpredictable administration in Washington,” Majumdar said.
“Our negotiators have our full support in securing an agreement that lifts the tariffs and duties now weighing on our steel, aluminum, lumber and automotive industries,” he added.
LeBlanc and Charette worked through the weekend with American officials, including during a virtual meeting with Greer on Sunday.
Canadian officials “seek to reach a comprehensive deal that delivers for businesses, workers, farmers and families on both sides of the border,” LeBlanc’s office said.
Ottawa and Washington are “not close to signing a trade deal” and a “big gap” remains between the two sides, officials told Global News on Friday.
Global News has agreed not to identify the sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the trade talks.
Relief for Canada’s softwood lumber industry has emerged as a sticking point in the talks. Two sources said the Americans are not interested in reducing softwood lumber tariffs, which currently sit close to 45 per cent.
Earlier on Sunday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre argued that tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber must be removed in any trade deal.
“It is unacceptable for there to be U.S. tariffs on Canadian lumber,” he said during a news conference Sunday. “It’s time for Mark Carney to keep his promise that he would negotiate a win and get the tariffs off Canadian softwood lumber. No more concessions while getting nothing in return.”
The approaching tariff deadline “adds uncertainty” for the Canadian economy and threatens “significant consequences for some affected industries and regions,” Royal Bank of Canada economists Abbey Xu and Nathan Janzen said in a note Monday morning.
The tariff uncertainty will continue to weigh on the Bank of Canada as well, said National Bank economists Matthieu Arseneau and Alexandra Ducharme.
“While the economy and the labour market have certainly improved recently, the outlook remains a cause for concern unless trade tensions with the United States ease,” the note from National Bank said Monday.
— with files from Global’s Mackenzie Gray and Reggie Cecchini
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
