Canadian workers rattled by Trump trade reversal

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For Canadians whose jobs are on the front lines of the tariff war, President Donald Trump's surprise decision to end trade talks has heightened concerns about their future – uncertainty that has become a daily reality.

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“You just don't know what's going to happen from day to day, week to week anymore. There's so much insecurity,” said John D'Agnolo, who heads the auto workers union in Windsor, near the U.S. border.

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Canada has been particularly hard hit by Trump's global industry tariffs, given the interconnected nature of the North American auto industry and the importance of American buyers of Canadian steel and aluminum.

Workers across Ontario watched the news closely, hoping for a breakthrough.

Trump's decision to end trade talks over the Ontario government's anti-tariff ad campaign (despite an apparently cordial meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier this month) was another troubling blow.

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D'Agnolo told AFP he was “not shocked” by Trump's sudden about-face, but still expressed surprise at what he called the president's erratic behavior.

“It's a factual ad and he doesn't want to hear it,” D'Agnolo said, referring to the ad that quotes former Republican President Ronald Reagan's warning about the negative impact tariffs would have on the U.S. economy.

“It made (Trump) angry, so he'll throw a fit and say, 'We're not going to talk now.' Like, who does this? D'Agnolo said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has agreed to withdraw the ad in question. — but not until Monday, after it airs during the first two games of the World Series, pitting the Toronto Blue Jays against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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“I can’t count on them”

Even before Trump's latest announcement, Carney had repeatedly warned that a deal to eliminate all auto tariffs was unlikely, as Trump has repeatedly said he wants cars to be made entirely in the United States.

But the outlook for metals was more promising.

In Hamilton, Ontario, known as Canada's “Steel City,” workers faced years of layoffs as the global metals market was flooded with cheaper foreign products.

A stable relationship with the United States would help, but Hamilton union leader Ron Wells told AFP he no longer believed that was possible.

“You can't count on them (the US) as a trading partner because, as you know, their leadership doesn't always do rational things,” he said.

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After Trump posted on Truth Social that he had “stopped” all negotiations and expressed fury over what he called “fake” ads, Carney tried to calm tensions.

He said Canada would be ready to resume negotiations “whenever the Americans are ready,” but reiterated that the economic relationship with the United States has fundamentally changed and that Ottawa needs to seek new partners.

Wells said he agreed with the prime minister.

“Canada must be independent from the United States when it comes to trade,” said the president of the United Steelworkers Local 1005.

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“No relationship”

Western University political scientist Laura Stevenson told AFP Trump's outrage over the ad had likely left Canadians “exhausted” further.

But, she added, stopping U.S. trade negotiations over television ads could also mobilize more national support for Carney, similar to the momentum that fueled his Liberal Party's election victory over a Conservative Party that some voters saw as too stylistically aligned with Trump.

Canadians can “unite even more around what the prime minister is trying to do,” she said.

Toronto resident Steven Polevoy told AFP that Trump's latest move confirmed his lack of interest in developing cross-border ties.

“He doesn’t have any relationship with us—he doesn’t want a relationship with us,” he said.

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