Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has sharply criticized US President Donald Trump amid ongoing Canada-US trade negotiations, describing Trump as “erratic” and “not to be trusted,” and urging Canada to resist making premature concessions. Kinew’s comments come as Canada works to finalize a trade agreement aimed at averting threatened US tariffs on Canadian imports.
Speaking ahead of a key deadline, Kinew expressed skepticism about the reliability of a deal with the Trump administration, stating that any agreement risks being undone given the president’s unpredictable approach. Despite this, Kinew acknowledged that Manitoba might comply with a request from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to restore US alcohol sales in the province, as part of a broader “Team Canada” effort to secure the deal.
Federal Minister Dominic LeBlanc, responsible for Canada-US trade, indicated that the two sides were close to reaching an agreement. After returning from Washington, where he met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, LeBlanc said negotiators were making continued progress. President Trump has characterized the emerging deal as “very fair” to both countries. Tariffs on approximately US$20 billion in Canadian goods, initially threatened by the United States, have been postponed until shortly after midnight Thursday, though full terms of the agreement have not yet been disclosed.
The contentious issue of US alcohol sales has been a significant sticking point. Several Canadian provinces have placed restrictions or bans on American liquor imports in response to previous US tariffs and trade tensions. These measures have been a source of friction in the negotiations, with the Trump administration pressing for their removal.
Other provincial leaders have publicly supported Carney’s strategy to ease restrictions on US alcohol as a gesture of goodwill to facilitate the trade talks. Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham stated that during a recent call with Carney, all premiers agreed in principle to returning US alcohol to store shelves, although not every leader has confirmed this position.
Kinew argued that the United States currently faces weaknesses both domestically and internationally. He said the US is “weaker around the world today” and suggested that the Trump administration is under pressure ahead of upcoming midterm elections. “We’ve got the upper hand. They are back on their heels right now. They are coming to us for a deal right now,” he said.
Canadian provinces do not have direct authority over the final trade agreement but retain control over certain areas, including liquor sales and some procurement regulations, which have factored into the broader negotiations. Eight of Canada’s ten provinces have imposed restrictions on US alcohol as a retaliatory measure and a signal of opposition to Trump’s repeated remarks about potentially making Canada a US state.
As talks progress, the federal government appears focused on balancing internal provincial interests with the goal of concluding a trade deal that will prevent the imposition of steep tariffs and stabilize economic relations with the United States.