OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney said he expects to speak with U.S. President Donald Trump before Wednesday’s tariff deadline, as trade negotiators from the two countries sat down in Washington, D.C., on Monday.

Speaking to reporters in St. John’s, Carney declined to say what he thinks a good deal would look like, but said in French that the federal government has a plan that “will cover all eventualities” if the latest round of tariffs are imposed.

He added that the negotiations “are very intense and delicate” and said he would not discuss the talks in public.

In D.C., Canada’s top trade negotiators met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick less than two days before the tariffs are set to take effect.

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Janice Charette, the chief trade negotiator, have been in Washington since last week and are hoping for a deal that would halt the tariffs.

The pair has met several times with Greer over the last week, including virtually for an hour on Sunday, a meeting LeBlanc’s spokesperson described as constructive.

Talks have intensified since U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on July 20 to impose 50 per cent levies on a range of Canadian goods. The order is set to take effect just after midnight on Wednesday.

These tariffs are in response to Canada’s provincial bans on American alcohol, the supply-managed dairy system and quotas on some U.S. vehicles.

The bans on U.S. liquor — which remain in place in eight provinces — and vehicle quotas were put in place in retaliation for Trump’s early rounds of tariffs.

The latest levies from the American side are targeted at specific Canadian industries, including exports of honey, hockey sticks, cement and wine.

Canadian officials who were briefed by LeBlanc after his meeting with Greer on Friday said it appeared the two sides were not close to a deal.

On Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said his province is prepared for “any and every scenario.”

“This is why I have been pushing so hard for a united Team Canada response to this attack on Canadian workers, on Canadian sovereignty, Canadian communities. We need to stick together,” Ford said in an address to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario in Ottawa.

The Conservative critic for Canada-U.S. relations said his party is also firmly part of Team Canada on Monday.

In a statement, Shuvaloy Majumdar called the latest tariffs “unjustified and illegal” and said the Trump administration is “tough and often unpredictable.”

“We have grown tired of seeing our country used as a punching bag. Yet we share a common hope that Prime Minister (Mark) Carney will deliver a genuine win at the negotiating table,” Majumdar said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2026.