Carney asks premiers to return US alcohol to store shelves
The recording, which the Canadian Press said was captured at a private fundraiser in Southampton, New York, and shared with the news agency, comes in the final stretch of a trade negotiation in which Trump has threatened 50% tariffs on Canadian goods.
In the audio, Vance is heard telling supporters that Carney is a “very sweet guy” and that he gets along with him well. But Vance also said Carney “comes in and puffs his chest out and says: ‘I’m going to, like, out-tough Donald Trump.’” The Canadian Press reported that Vance added: “It’s hilarious because Carney presents this as some victory for Canada when fundamentally, like, they climb down on a lot of issues.”
Canadian officials have said a deal is close that is likely to include Canada again allowing US alcohol sales across the country in exchange for avoiding the worst of Trump’s threatened tariffs.
Trump first said he would apply the tariffs from August 19, but on Tuesday he backed down and announced a three-day pause. The White House said in July that the 50% tariffs were in retaliation for “discriminatory treatment” by Canada that included bans on the sale of US alcohol in eight of 10 provinces and all three territories — a response in early 2025 to Trump’s first threats of tariffs against Canada. US producers of wine, beer, and spirits have said the boycott has significantly affected their sales, and Canadian imports of US alcohol are down about 81% year on year, according to the White House.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and his Nova Scotia counterpart, Tim Houston, confirmed this week that Carney had asked the provinces to return US alcohol to shelves.
“I wouldn’t say [Carney] was begging us, but what is a step before begging?” Kinew said on Thursday.
Kinew encouraged Canadians to continue their boycott of US products regardless. “If we put the booze back on the shelves, don’t buy it … Buy the Canadian stuff instead,” he said. “We’ve done an amazing job of sticking together in the face of Donald Trump’s tariff threats and I think we should continue to do that.”
Kinew said he respected Carney for taking on Trump and believed Canada should stand firm in the negotiations. “I think Donald Trump is weak. America is weaker around the world today than it was a year ago, and he’s about to get slaughtered in the midterms,” he said.
“Very wise people have said you can’t get a good deal with a bad person, and I think that rule applies here, so I think we should fight,” Kinew said.
The leaked audio follows Trump’s three-day pause on the 50% tariffs announced earlier this week and 16 months of Canadian concessions to Trump that did not halt the threatened tariff.