Carney says he has not spoken with Democrats about tariffs

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday that he has not spoken with U.S. Democrats about whether the party could pursue legislation to remove tariffs on Canada. Democrats are set to take control of Congress in January after sweeping midterm victories.

“The short answer is no, I haven’t,” Carney told reporters at an unrelated news conference. He said Canada welcomes any moves to restore free trade between the two countries, arguing that it would serve American families struggling with affordability, American workers seeking good, well-paid jobs and stability, and Canadians. Canada will continue working with the U.S. to reach a deal for Canada, he said.

The Section 232 and Section 338 tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump were enacted through executive orders, not legislation. That means the authority to remove them remains with Trump even with Democrats in control of Congress; he has shown no inclination to do so. Democrats won both the House and Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections, renewing questions about the Canada-U.S. trade relationship.

Abdul El-Sayed, a senator-elect from Michigan, called the trade war “insane” in a post-election media interview. Speaking to CNN, he named it as one of three issues he hopes to champion in the Senate and called it one of “the president’s frank failure[s] as a leader in this moment.” Newly elected Democratic representatives in Oregon, Massachusetts and Vermont have also publicly said they want the tariffs on Canada repealed.

But those promises are “symbolic,” Carlo Dade, director of international policy and the New North America Initiative at the University of Calgary, told Global News. Trump will retain executive powers even as Democrats take over legislative powers. The Section 338 tariffs, imposed by executive order, are set at 50 per cent and apply to more than $20 billion worth of Canadian products.

In April 2025, the Senate voted 51-48 to pass a joint resolution aimed at ending the national emergency declaration used to justify the tariffs on Canada, but the vote ultimately had no effect. Dade said Democrats can hold hearings and take other “theatrical” steps, but “in terms of real things, nothing. You need 67 votes in the Senate” to overcome a presidential veto.

The Democrats have 54 seats in the U.S. Senate.

Dade said another question is whether newly elected Democrats would end the tariffs even if they had the power to do so. He said people often think of Democrats such as Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, but the Democrats soon to hold some power may be different.

Dade said as many as 10 Democrats could also belong to the Democratic Socialists of America, an outside progressive populist group that endorses candidates whose goals and values align with its own, including support for universal health care. Some DSA members oppose tariffs, he said, but remain “America first” and are likely to favour protectionist policies, as many Democrats already do. He described the approach as: “Protect jobs, protect workers, be the working class in the U.S.”

“The shift in Democrats may be good for us on some issues, but not all,” he said.