Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, stated at a news conference in Red Deer, Alberta on Wednesday that he doesn't see value in using Canadian energy exports as leverage in trade talks with the US. He emphasized the importance of being a reliable supplier, particularly for key commodities like oil. The comments come after previous statements by Carney and other Canadian officials hinted at potentially withholding energy exports to pressure the US into reaching a trade agreement. A 50% tariff on Canadian goods is set to take effect on August 19 if no deal is reached.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, not to be confused with former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, says he doesn't see value in using Canadian energy exports as leverage in US trade talks. This comes as US President Donald Trump threatens further tariffs on Canadian goods, including a 50% tariff that will take effect on August 19th. The prime minister was asked if Canada would hold back oil exports to the US, but said his focus is on getting an agreement before the new tariffs kick in. When asked again about using Alberta oil as leverage, Carney suggested that being a reliable supplier is important. This move by Carney comes after US President Trump has repeatedly targeted Canada with trade threats and tariffs, including imposing 50% tariffs on Canadian goods worth $28 billion. Despite this, the representative of Ontario in Washington says that the US administration is taking notice of Canada's retaliatory measures, which include a 22% drop in US auto exports to Canada since April last year.
Written for “US Tariff Policy Dispute” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article frames Carney's comments as a shift in his position, but does not provide explicit criticism of the idea of using energy exports as leverage; however, it does contrast Carney's views with more aggressive proposals from Premier Ford and implicitly suggests that Carney's approach is more cautious.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score +0.20 for article 17 · logged 2026-07-30
Carney says he doesn't 'see the value' in using energy as leverage in U.S. trade talks
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he → say → talks
Prime minister has said 'everything's on the table' if new U.S. tariffs come into force
Prime Minister Mark Carney says that he doesn't "see the value" in using Canadian energy exports as a bargaining chip as U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening further tariffs on Canadian goods.
Speaking to reporters at a housing-related news conference in Red Deer, Alta., on Wednesday, the prime minister was asked twice about the possibility of holding back energy exports to the U.S., including oil.
At first Carney said his main focus is on getting some sort of agreement in place before new 50 per cent tariffs come into force on Aug. 19.
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tariffs → say → Aug.
"We have lots of options of what we would do if that's not there — both positive in terms of supporting the economy and also addressing other issues.
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that → have → issues
But I'm not going to be drawn on what we're going to do.
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we → go → what
We're going to focus now on building towards an agreement," the prime minister said.
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minister → go → agreement
But when asked a second time, about whether Alberta oil specifically could be used as leverage, Carney suggested which way he could be leaning.
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he → ask → leverage
Canadians can be trusted," Carney said.
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Carney → trust → ?
"When you're a supplier of a key commodity, key service, you've got to think really hard about not supplying [it]," he said.
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he → get → it
"I don't see the value of it."
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I → see → it
Carney's latest comments are a shift from last week when he met with Canada's premiers.
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he → meet → premiers
Trump's latest tariff threat dominated much of the talks.
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threat → dominate → talks
Following that meeting, the prime minister said that "everything's on the table" as a possible response if no agreement is reached by Aug. 19.
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agreement → follow → Aug.
Carney talks about Canada's 'energy sovereignty.'
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Carney → talk → sovereignty
But what does that really mean?
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that → mean → what
Will Alberta pipeline proposal move voters ahead of separation vote?
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proposal → move → vote
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has been the most vocal proponent of using energy exports as leverage in talks with the U.S.
Not long after landing in Prince Edward Island for last week's meetings with Carney and the other premiers, Ford again called for Canada to play the energy card if necessary.
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Canada → use → card
"We are an energy powerhouse and we could dismantle the U.S. if we wanted to," he said.
"The potash, the oil, we're their number-one customer in the world, they need to feel the pain rather than us constantly feeling the pain."
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us → dismantle → pain
Alberta's Danielle Smith, who was with Carney for Wednesday's announcement, said point blank last week that withholding energy is "not going to happen."
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withholding → say → energy
The Trump administration says the looming 50 per cent tariffs are in response to unfair trade practices in three areas: the provincial bans on U.S.-made alcohol, Canada's protected dairy industry and the integrated auto industry.
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tariffs → say → alcohol
When breaking down the hundreds of products that the U.S. is promising to levy next month, B.C, Quebec, Manitoba and Nova Scotia — provinces that have taken U.S. liquor and wine off the shelves — stand to take bigger hits than others.
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that → break → others
Dominic LeBlanc, the federal minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, is in Washington this week and met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Wednesday.
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LeBlanc → meet → Wednesday
LeBlanc posted on social media that the meeting was "comprehensive" and the two "agreed to remain in close contact and continue working together.
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two → post → contact
"
The latest tariff threat comes against the backdrop of the ongoing Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) talks.
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threat → come → talks
Following Trump's announcement, Carney said he spoke with the U.S. president and that the two agreed to "intensify negotiations."
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two → follow → negotiations
