Canada should broaden its response to its policies trade war with the US by going beyond tariffs and targeting fighter jets and coal, a Canadian prime minister said.
“I encourage the prime minister to look at non-tariff measures in response to what the Americans are trying to do to Canadians,” British Columbia Prime Minister David Eby said at a news conference on Tuesday.
One potential target: Canada’s planned purchase of American F-35 fighter jets.
“If your friend kicks you in the back, one of the first rules is that you don’t buy $12 billion worth of fighter jets from that person,” Eby said at a news conference on Tuesday.
Canada had planned to purchase 88 F-35s from US defense giant Lockheed Martin, but Carney put the tender under review shortly after taking office in March 2025.
Eby’s other potential bottleneck is U.S. thermal coal.
U.S. thermal coal is shipped via British Columbia to the Westshore terminal near Vancouver, a major export route for U.S. coal producers.
Eby said Ottawa should consider additional export tariffs or taxes on those shipments.
“We should have a public discussion,” he said. “Should we buy those fighter jets from the United States? In my opinion, the answer is absolutely not.”
The proposals come at a time when the trade relationship between the US and Canada is deteriorating sharply.
Canada is one of the US’s largest trading partners, with approximately $870 billion in revenue goods and services which was traded between the two countries in 2025.
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Trade talks broke down last week and new 50% U.S. tariffs on about $20 billion of Canadian imports came into effect on Saturday. On Monday, Trump also said tariffs on Canadian vehicles, auto parts and steel would rise to 50% on January 1.
Canadian plans dollar-for-dollar retaliation From September 8. On Tuesday, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced tariffs on 27.6 billion Canadian dollars, or about $20 billion, of U.S. imports, including steel, fish, dairy and electronics.
Meanwhile, Carney has highlighted areas where Washington is dependent on Canada.
Announcing an $8.2 billion contract for six Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers on Monday, Carney pointed out the ships as an example of one of the “many, many, many things” the US needs from Canada.
