Harper Says Ottawa Had No Choice on U.S. Trade Talks
Former prime minister Stephen Harper says Ottawa had no choice but to walk away from trade talks with the United States. He made the comments in his closing remarks at Canada's first national investment summit, where he said Canada needs to lower its reliance on the United States. It is like a business that sells almost everything to one customer. The Globe and Mail
Harper backed Prime Minister Mark Carney's decision to leave the talks. The meeting was the Canada Investment Summit. CBC News
He spoke in Toronto. He gave the closing remarks on Tuesday, September 15, 2026. CP24
Harper said he admires the United States greatly. He called the decision to walk away from a trade deal with the U.S. a very difficult decision. Financial Post
He addressed the ongoing trade war with the United States in those closing remarks. He spoke on the final day of the summit. BNN Bloomberg He said Canada should assert itself as a global energy superpower, a country able to supply large amounts of energy to other countries. CTV News Harper led Canada's Conservative Party for over a decade. CBC News
The summit is a two-day event. It brings together leading global investors, Canadian CEOs and public sector representatives. Its focus is to speed up new investment in Canada.
The tariff file remains active. The United States put a 50 per cent tariff, a border tax, on $27.6 billion in Canadian goods starting August 22, 2026. Starting September 8, Canada will place counter-tariffs, reply taxes, of 15, 25 and 50 per cent on products linked to those covered by U.S. Section 338 measures. Department of Finance Canadian goods trade with the United States fell in 2025 because of U.S. tariffs and trade policy uncertainty. Canada has answered U.S. tariffs with a mix of countermeasures, support for industry, and trade negotiations.
The broader context here is political cover. A former Conservative prime minister publicly supporting a Liberal prime minister's negotiating position leaves less room for a partisan attack on the withdrawal itself. It moves the debate in Ottawa toward tactics and how to adjust at home. That matters in a minority Parliament, where the government needs help from other parties to pass laws, and for provincial premiers who must help affected workers and firms.
Looking at what this means for investment policy, the setting counts. Closing an investor summit with a message about U.S. dependence and energy capacity ties the break in talks to the plan to attract capital at home. For readers who follow federal-provincial files, the test will be permits, grids, pipelines and ports. Those are shared jurisdictions, areas where Ottawa and the provinces both have a say. Ottawa can bring investors together. It cannot deliver projects alone.
