Members of the media may directly contact the following experts:
Isabelle Salle (English and French)
Canada Research Chair in Macroeconomics and Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences.
Professor Salle’s research examines macroeconomic policies from a behavioral angle. She has extensive research and policy experience in monetary policy, central bank communication and inflation dynamics.
"This situation is of our own making: Canada would rather defend provincial corporations, outdated regulations, and alienate our most essential trade partner (and largest economy in the world, which is driving all the economic growth in the region and beyond) in a macroeconomic economic situation that is already dire (and has nothing to do with the U.S. tariffs since it well precedes it). Mexico has played a much smarter hand and we have ended up sidelined.
These tariffs will reinforce and accelerate the economic downturn Canada is already experiencing; even if these tariffs cause inflationary pressures on U.S. consumers, the damage to Canadians is potentially far greater."
Patrick Leblond (English and French)
Associate Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, Faculty of Social Sciences.
Professor Leblond's expertise concerns questions relating to global economic governance and international and comparative political economy, including topics dealing with international finance, international economic integration, and business-government relations.
"Canadians shouldn’t expect a temporary trade deal with the US this week. Nothing less than reneging on these latest tariffs and bringing down existing tariffs on steel, aluminum, autos and forest products would be necessary concessions to convince Canadians they got a good deal. More concessions on defence purchases and tech dominance - which could look to make Canada more dependent on the U.S. - would hurt Carney’s government.
Since it is doubtful the US will concede so much in exchange for a few retaliatory tariffs, booze and dairy, the best outcome for Carney and his team is to walk away and blame Greer and Trump for being unreasonable. If no deal is found and the U.S. goes ahead with the August 19 tariffs, it shouldn’t hurt Carney, politically. The worst outcome would be to agree to a deal with concessions to just avoid these 19 tariffs, even if the overall economy would benefit in the short term."
Wolfgang Alschner (English and French)
Associate Professor, Faculty of Law – Common Law Section and School of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Hyman Soloway Chair in Business and Trade Law.
Professor Alschner’s areas of expertise includes tariffs, general global trade policy and CUSMA. He can focus on the implications of any decision.
Charles-Étienne Beaudry (English and French)
Professor, School of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences.
Professor Étienne-Beaudry's expertise lies in U.S. politics and the U.S.-Canada relationship.
"Montesquieu once wrote "gentle commerce" is able to make countries and people behave more harmoniously with each other. Canada needs to feed two birds with one scone. We have to achieve to avoid these tariffs and their repercussions on our businesses and we must strengthen our economy especially by diversifying our trading partners.
It was good news that Mark Carney and Donald Trump spoke on the phone yesterday and that there are ongoing talks between officials of both countries in Washington today. It shows that a deal is on the table. Most provinces have withdrawn American liquor from their shelves, which has hurt American producers. Alcohol might be our trump card, so we need to use it wisely. The endgame is to have CUSMA renewed in similar terms because so far, this treaty has well protected us from tariffs coming from our southern neighbor."
