Prime Minister Mark Carney will hold a press conference on Monday to announce new measures aimed at strengthening Canada's trade routes, just days after Ottawa pulled out of US trade talks it deemed unacceptable.
Carney "will announce new investments to defend our waters and strengthen our trade routes" on Monday at 12 p.m. ET, wrote the prime minister's media relations office in a note late Sunday. He will be joined by Quebec's Premier Christine Frechette at an event in Levis, Quebec.
Late Friday, Carney suspended talks on new specific US tariffs, saying last-minute changes to US proposals were "unfair" and "uneconomic." The US blamed Canada for the end of the talks, adding that Carney rejected terms agreed earlier in the week.
As of Saturday, Canada is subject to US 50% tariffs on specific goods worth C$28 billion, including dairy products, cement and hockey equipment, in addition to existing ones on lumber and aluminum.
Over the weekend, Carney defended the decision to end the talks, adding the government would introduce measures to support the domestic economy, reduce interprovincial trade barriers and expand international trade.
Monday's event with Carney will take place at the Davie shipyard in Levis, suggesting a focus on port infrastructure and shipbuilding as part of Canada's broader push to strengthen security and diversify trade away from the US, wrote Scotiabank Economics Derek Holt, vice-president and head of capital markets economics, in a note.
Carney may also address the recent breakdown in trade talks, added Holt.