Leaked audio from a private event has reportedly captured the US vice-president, JD Vance, mocking Canada for apparently capitulating in a trade deal and taunting the prime minister, Mark Carney, for trying to “out-tough” Donald Trump.
The recording, which was apparently made at a fundraiser and shared with the Canadian Press, comes in the last stretch of a difficult negotiation in which the US president has threatened to impose 50% tariffs on Canada.
In the audio, Vance is heard telling a room of supporters in Southampton, New York, that Carney is a “very sweet guy” and that he gets along with him well. But he also says Carney “comes in and puffs his chest out and says, ‘I’m going to, like, out-tough Donald Trump’.”
According to the Canadian Press, he says: “It’s hilarious because Carney presents this as some victory for Canada when fundamentally, like, they climb down on a lot of issues.”
The audio is unlikely to help relations between the two delegations at a crucial time. Canadian officials have said a deal is close that is likely to include Canada again allowing US alcohol sales across the country in exchange for avoiding the worst of Trump’s tariffs.
Trump first said he would apply the tariffs from 19 August, but on Tuesday he backed down and announced a three-day pause.
The White House said in July that the 50% tariffs were in retaliation for “discriminatory treatment” by Canada that included bans on the sale of US alcohol in eight out of 10 provinces and all three territories – a response in early 2025 to Trump’s first threats of tariffs against Canada.
US producers of wine, beer and spirits have said the boycott has significantly affected their sales. Canadian imports of US alcohol are down about 81% year-on-year, according to the White House.
The premier of Manitoba, Wab Kinew, and his Nova Scotia counterpart, Tim Houston, confirmed this week that Carney has asked the provinces to return US alcohol to shelves.
“I wouldn’t say [Carney] was begging us, but what is a step before begging?” Kinew said on Thursday.
He encouraged Canadians to continue their boycott of US products regardless.
“If we put the booze back on the shelves, don’t buy it…buy the Canadian stuff instead,” he said. “We’ve done an amazing job of sticking together in the face of Donald Trump’s tariff threats and I think we should continue to do that.”
Kinew said he respected Carney for taking on Trump and believed Canada should stand firm in the negotiations.
“I think Donald Trump is weak. America is weaker around the world today than it was a year ago, and he’s about to get slaughtered in the midterms,” he said.
“Very wise people have said ‘you can’t get a good deal with a bad person’, and I think that rule applies here. So I think we should fight.”
