Canada 'should fight' as US trade deadline looms, Manitoba premier saysPremier Wab Kinew's comments signal a tough battle for Prime Minister Mark Carney to get buy-in from Canadians on a possible trade deal with the US.15 mins agoUS & Canada

Canada 'should fight' as US trade deadline looms, Manitoba premier notes.

Key points

• Canada-US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is due to meet with his counterpart, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, again on Friday morning.
• Still, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew remarked Canada "should fight" and not rush to produce concessions.
• Along with restoring the sale of American booze, Canada is remarked to be considering allowing American dairy producers greater access to its market.
• Doug Ford, the traditionally outspoken premier of Canada's largest province Ontario, has yet to comment publicly on the accord.
• Other premiers, namely of Nova Scotia and the Yukon territory, remarked they were prepared to restore US alcohol sales.

One of Canada's provincial leaders has criticised a prospective trade accord with the US and pushed his country to hold out for favourable terms, showing Prime Minister Mark Carney faces a tough battle in getting buy-in on the agreement as the hours tick down to a US-set deadline.

Negotiators have until Friday night to finalise the accord or risk a fresh wave of further US tariffs on a broad set of Canadian goods.

Carney needs Kinew and other premiers to restore sales of US alcohol on liquor store shelves, so that the US will reportedly agree to reduce some of its tariffs on Canadian metals and autos.

Trump pauses new tariffs on Canada for three days, saying accord close. Canada's 'powerful' dairy sector is in Trump's trade crosshairs.

After a session with Greer that lasted more than three hours on Thursday, LeBlanc stated to journalists that the two sides were "very close".

Details leaked to a number of media outlets suggest the US will agree to reduce tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium from 50% to 25%, and tariffs on Canadian automobiles from 25% to 15%.

As negotiators have worked around the clock to hammer out a accord, some Canadians are expressing concern with what is – and what isn't – on the table.

While Carney has noted the two sides are closing in on an agreement addressing "Canada's most important strategic sectors", president Donald Trump has hailed the feasible agreement as good for American farmers and manufacturers.

Kinew remarked on Thursday that he believed Trump was a "bad person", and questioned why Canada would provide up some of its leverage by restoring US alcohol sales.

"Everybody knows the American president by now, he's erratic, he's irresponsible, and he's not to be trusted, " Kinew remarked. "And this is the person that we were supposed to make a deal with, and we're going to make additional concessions for it."

Kinew continued that he would reluctantly restore the sale of US alcohol in his province if it was for the benefit of all of Canada, but he called on Canadians not to purchase it. "Let it sit on the shelf, " he remarked.

Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette, whose province is home to a sizeable dairy industry, stated on Thursday that she was analysing what the accord will mean for Quebec farmers before deciding on whether to restore US alcohol sales.

Meanwhile, other premiers, namely of Nova Scotia and the Yukon territory, remarked they were prepared to restore US alcohol sales.

For context, the mayor of an Ontario city that is home to the country's second-largest steel producer informed the CBC that a agreement that includes 25% tariffs on the sector "wouldn't be something to celebrate".

"I am worried with the news that's coming out that we are not seeing a deal that will benefit our community at the very least, " Mayor Matthew Shoemaker remarked.

In practice, the mixed reaction to what is known regarding the agreement so far is a glimpse of the task ahead for Prime Minister Carney after he campaigned on a tough "elbows-up" approach to dealing with Trump.

Polls suggest a majority of Canadians would be unhappy if the Carney administration produced significant concessions to the US, with 56% surveyed by polling firm Leger saying they wanted Canada to take a hardline approach.

In a leaked audio recording documented noted by the Canadian press, US Vice-president JD Vance informed attendees at a private fundraiser on Wednesday that Carney has tried to "out-tough Donald Trump" in trade negotiations.

"It's hilarious because Carney presents this as some victory for Canada when fundamentally, like, they climb down on a lot of issues, " Vance reportedly informed the room.

In short, canada ' should fight' as US trade deadline looms, Manitoba premier saysPremier Wab is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.