Canada-U.S. trade talks intensifying but wide gap remains, sources say

With the U.S.-Canada trade war dominating the final days of the U.S. midterm campaign, trade discussions between the two countries have intensified. But sources tell CBC News and Radio-Canada that doesn't mean a deal is imminent.

Source familiar with discussions tells Radio-Canada 'we are not on the verge of an agreement just yet'

Listen to this article

Estimated 4 minutes

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.

With the U.S.-Canada trade war dominating the final days of the U.S. midterm campaign, trade discussions between the two countries have intensified. But sources tell CBC News and Radio-Canada that doesn't mean a deal is imminent.

A source familiar with the discussions told Radio-Canada that there are "substantive conversations, but there are still key elements that remain unresolved."

"We are not on the verge of an agreement just yet," the same source said.

Another Canadian government source told CBC News on Monday that while discussions between officials from both countries have become more frequent in recent days, the state of play is best understood by reviewing comments made last week by Janice Charette, Canada's chief trade negotiator.

"Pens are down, and the doors are open," Charette said at the Toronto Global Forum on Thursday. "Canada stands ready to continue discussions."

• White House to swap some tariffs on Canadian goods amid midterm pressure

• Trump has repeatedly endorsed foreign candidates while in office

Charette said that while conversations are taking place at "multiple levels," they aren't happening at the negotiating table. 

"We're having conversations to see whether or not we can come back to the table for a set of detailed negotiations," she said. "We don't know exactly when that's going to happen."

According to several Canadian sources, the gap between the two sides has been too wide in recent days to reach an agreement.

"As we have said, Canada remains in constructive dialogue with our U.S. counterparts on a range of priorities. We stand ready to work constructively and in good faith towards a more mutually beneficial trading relationship that respects Canada's interests," a spokesperson from Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc's office said on Sunday. 

U.S. trade spin and the midterms

U.S. President Donald Trump and other senior U.S. officials have suggested in recent days that progress is being made toward a deal with Canada.

"We'll have ​that settled pretty soon. They're willing to give us anything ​at this moment," Trump told a campaign rally in Port Huron, Mich., on Sunday.

And Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council and a key economic adviser to the White House, suggested on Fox News that trade talks had been hampered by the referendum vote in Alberta but since then "negotiations have picked up."

"They're gathering steam. [Commerce] Secretary [Howard] Lutnick has been talking to his Canadian counterparts all week. I think it's very close to finally having a deal on that," Hassett said. 

WATCH | More about Trump's stop in Michigan:

Trump campaigns in battleground Michigan with trade talk swirling

October 25|

Duration

2:55

While the White House may want to send a political message that progress is being made on the trade front, it is far from clear whether the U.S. administration is prepared to make Canada an acceptable offer.

Polls show Trump's dispute with Canada is deeply unpopular among American voters in both major parties. 

Canadian sources that have spoken with Radio-Canada caution it's in the Americans' interest to "spin" the narrative that a deal with Canada is possible — especially with the midterm elections a week away.

David Axelrod, a former chief strategist to U.S. president Barack Obama, suggested in a post on social media Monday that "an 11th-hour trade deal [with] Canada is an option [Trump] still might pursue to help his Senate candidates in northern states."

On Friday Trump removed some tariffs from some goods — while hitting other products with new tariffs — in order to help Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins whose campaign has been frustrated by the trade war's impact in her state. 

Ford says 'we'll see what happens'

"They're going for an election down there and I don't think Trump's doing too well," Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on his way into the first ministers' and First Nations meeting in Ottawa.

"I think the trade deal with Canada is affecting him."

The premier said he hopes talks are progressing, but for now it's a "we'll see what happens" situation. 

Asked if Prime Minister Mark Carney has asked him to reconsider the province's U.S. booze ban to move trade talks along, Ford said "not yet."

But he said a fair deal for steelworkers, autoworkers and manufacturing workers would have him put American booze back on LCBO shelves "in a heartbeat."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peter Zimonjic is a senior writer for CBC News who reports for digital, radio and television. He has worked as a reporter and columnist in London, England, for the Telegraph, Times and Daily Mail, and in Canada for the Ottawa Citizen, Torstar and Sun Media. He is the author of Into The Darkness: An Account of 7/7, published by Vintage.