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TORONTO — <\/span>Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs have driven up costs for American families and upended a decades-old trade relationship as he unveiled a multibillion-dollar plan to shield Canada\u2019s manufacturing heartland from the trade war.<\/p>\n Carney also said he spoke with Trump for \u201cquite some time\u201d about issues including trade<\/a>, as the U.S. Embassy in Canada accused Canadian politicians of seeking to influence American politics ahead of next month\u2019s midterm elections. Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford rejected suggestions of improper interference.<\/p>\n Trump has openly said he wants automakers to move production<\/a> from Canada to the United States, threatening an industry deeply integrated across the border for decades.<\/p>\n \u201cU.S. tariffs have upended a trade bargain that\u2019s existed for decades,\u201d Carney said. \u201cThey\u2019ve raised costs for American families while putting Ontario workers and businesses at a disadvantage and under a cloud of uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n Carney said an integrated North American auto industry would benefit both countries but acknowledged that it may no longer be a priority for Washington. \u201cTheir approach has changed,\u201d he said. \u201cSo must ours.\u201d<\/p>\n Carney said the conversation covered Iran, the Middle East and some trade issues. They discussed Ukraine days earlier. He gave no indication of a breakthrough but said Canada remains ready to negotiate.<\/p>\n Trade negotiations collapsed in August after the countries appeared close to a deal. Trump subsequently imposed 50% tariffs on about $20 billion in Canadian goods, prompting Canadian retaliation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s clear that Canada\u2019s relationship with the United States has changed permanently,\u201d Ford said. \u201cNo matter what happens in the midterms, no matter who sits in the White House, we\u2019re not going back to the way things were.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s trade war<\/a> and repeated threats to make Canada the 51st U.S. state have fueled a surge in Canadian nationalism. Carney has made reducing Canada\u2019s dependence on the United States a priority, setting a goal of doubling exports to other markets over the next decade. <\/p>\n Carney and Ford announced the 8.7 billion Canadian dollar ($6.2 billion) plan to support steelmakers, automakers and critical mineral development in Ontario, Canada\u2019s manufacturing heartland.<\/p>\n The plan includes CA$5.2 billion ($3.7 billion) over five years for steelmakers and CA$2.5 billion ($1.8 billion) for automakers, including CA$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion) from Ottawa.<\/p>\n The announcement comes as U.S.-owned steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs announced layoffs at its Hamilton, Ontario, plant, highlighting the toll of Trump\u2019s tariffs on Canadian manufacturing.<\/p>\n Also Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy issued a fact sheet<\/a> accusing Canadian politicians of seeking to interfere in American elections. <\/p>\n The statement singled out Industry Minister M\u00e9lanie Joly for discussing retaliatory tariffs targeting Republican states and Ford for airing a U.S. advertisement featuring former President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs. Trump abruptly canceled trade talks with Canada after the ad aired during the World Series in October 2025. <\/p>\n The embassy also cited 11 Canadians charged with illegally voting in U.S. elections between 2012 and 2026, without linking the cases to Canada\u2019s government. <\/p>\n The administration has launched a whole-of-government effort to investigate and prosecute noncitizen voting, something election experts and administrators characterize as a comparatively small issue<\/a>. The Department of Justice says that since the start of 2026 it has arrested more than 200 people for illegally voting as noncitizens in past elections, a vanishingly small number compared to the country’s tens of millions of regular voters.<\/p>\n \u201cThe items featured in the U.S. embassy\u2019s \u2018fact sheet\u2019 are not genuine examples of foreign interference and the implicit assumption that Canada could significantly alter the outcome of the midterms is absurd,\u201d said Daniel B\u00e9land, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal. <\/p>\n \u201cAccusing Canada of foreign interference ahead of the midterms could pave the way to \u2018Blame Canada\u2019 rhetoric after the electoral results are in.\u201d<\/p>\n