Market News

Trade negotiations between Mexico and the United States have launched but Ottawa and Washington have not started official talks yet.

Conservative trade critic Shuv Majumdar posted on social media that "millions of Canadians are out of work, anxious for their future, living in uncertainty around how to price things, plan things, and grow businesses."

"Yet still Canada isn't at the table?" Majumdar said.

LeBlanc said Canada is approaching the trade discussions "from a position of strength and with the goal of preserving and strengthening one of the most successful trading relationships in the world."

"At a time of global economic uncertainty, Canada is a stable, reliable and trusted partner," he said. "We have the energy and natural resources the world needs, a world-class workforce, and a predictable business environment attracting the highest investment in decades."

Carlo Dade, director of international policy and the New North America Initiative at the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy, said the blown deadline doesn't mean much to the future of CUSMA "as long as there is constructive work and dialogue occurring."

"I think the market is adjusting to a new normal of uncertainty with the U.S.," Dade said in an email. "That said, awareness of the reality also means greater awareness of the cost."

Dade said some members of the Trump administration have indicated that the U.S. still values the trade agreement.

Greer has said there are "pillars" of the continental trade pact that work well. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and senior Trump adviser Peter Navarro have been much more critical.

"Trump is negotiating in public, so we have to discount, heavily discount, what he says, view it through the lens of his seeking leverage," Dade said.

Andrew Hale, a fellow at Advancing American Freedom — a conservative advocacy group founded by former U.S. vice-president Mike Pence — said CUSMA was a major achievement during the first Trump administration and he credits former United States trade representative Robert Lighthizer for following the law while being a tough negotiator.

Trump's trade actions are now sowing "chaos" and many people in the administration "don't get Canada," Hale said.

"They're so unpredictable and it's so chaotic. If I knew what their strategy was, I could make a gold mine. It's like asking me if I have a crystal ball."

While trade talks will continue, the uncertainty discourages long-term investment because of the deep integration among all three countries, Hale added. If negotiations continue for a long time, he said, it could diminish North America's global competitiveness.

Annual consultations could also bring increased trade frictions, Hale said, because they "are never usually harmonious with the Trump administration."

"They push people right to the edge of the cliff every time they have these negotiations," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2026.

— With files from Sarah Ritchie in Ottawa

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press